Stealing for Keeps
by forever.blue.skies
Summary: He goes around, stealing from Japan's richest and most prosperous families. He never makes a mistake and has never been seen. Except once upon a time, he was noticed by a girl who looked like an angel...
1. 00 Prologue

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~Shugo Chara! is officially owned by Peach-Pit. Unfortunately.~_

* * *

_00. Stealing for Keeps_: Prologue

I crouched in the corner and sniffled as quietly as possible, trying to brush away the tears left on my cheeks. I heard the maids and servants as they called for me as softly as possible. I retreated farther back into the darkness as one of them walked past. Hiding in the shadows, I sat there for awhile until it became silent; the only sound was my soft hiccups.

It was quiet, and I started to doze off, until I heard (more?) light footsteps. I snapped back awake. Then I saw him: a boy my age with long, violet hair and amber eyes. He wore all black, carrying a bulging sack along with him. He looked around shiftily and nodded to himself, as if satisfied that nobody was there. I squinted my eyes and tried to shrink back more. Who was he?

He scanned the room again, more carefully then before, and his eyes narrowed slightly at my little corner. He took slow, deliberate steps towards me, until he stopped. I knew he saw me, even if I was tiny. His eyes wide, he stooped down to my level and met my eyes uncertainly.

He tilted his head in confusion and brought a finger forward, and almost hesitantly, he wiped a tear off of my face. I stared back in curiosity and wonder. He paused and started to search his pockets for something, and when he finally found it, he handed it to me and offered a small smile. I took it reluctantly. We never said a single word to each other as he examined me while I buried my face into the handkerchief. Strangely enough, it smelled like Sakura blossoms, mysterious and soothing.

Our exchange seemed short, to me. We just watched each other, but the difference was, his eyes were more mature than mine, or, in general, any kid's would be. He seemed intelligent and stealthy, almost as if he was the night himself. But, as was the night, he was kind and gentle, aloof and dark. He sat in front of me, crossing his arms as he did so, looking me over as if I'd disappear as soon as he looked away.

Suddenly, he raised his head. He seemed nervous, and I recognized the muffled voices of a few maids. He backed away from me quickly, and I stood up and took a step towards him. I opened my mouth, but closed it again when I saw how pleadingly he gazed back at me. He raised his finger to his mouth, and soundlessly begged me to keep quiet. He speedily crept towards the window and pried it open. He slipped out of the tiny opening and almost dropped outside, until he stopped, as if debating internally about something.

Then he turned his eyes back onto me, those eyes that were much too old for a kid that was as young as him and me. His amber eyes gleamed in the darkness, brimming with sorrow, confusion, and an unfamiliar feeling I couldn't even begin to recognize. And, even though it was silent in the dead of night, I still had to strain my ears to hear what he said next.

"I'm sorry."

_00. Stealing for Keeps: _Prologue

* * *

_New idea, and technically, this is just a prologue. I'll try writing my first official chapter... er, eventually? I don't know.  
_

_The thing is, I think it's stupid for me to start writing a new story while I'm writing 'Sparks Will Fly', so tell me if you'd rather me finish that first before starting this. I really won't mind either way...  
_

_Well, this is different from my usual genres. Since I usually write under the humor section, I just decided to give this a shot. It's alright, I suppose... But seriously, constructive criticism is appreciated. I'll need some, definitely.  
_

_Well, review if you can~ :)_

_-Bluey-san_


	2. 01 Traveling and Settling

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~I wish I owned Shugo Chara! But I don't. Boo-hoo for me.~_

_

* * *

_

_01. Stealing for Keeps: _Traveling & Settling

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I slammed my hand on top of the alarm clock. Why did I have to wake up so early on a Saturday again? I turned my head slightly until I saw my calendar. Circled in red was a particular date, and not one I was looking forward to.

"Stupid school and stupid break for ending," I mumbled as I dragged myself out of bed. I'm pretty sure I packed last night…

"Rima-san, do you need anything?" I looked up into the eyes of my polite maid, Tomoyo. With her graying hair pulled up into a tight bun and her kind blue eyes, she looked like a kind grandma. I looked around my room and shrugged.

"Not really; you can tell them I'll be down in a second," I replied as I proceeded to grab my uniform and yanked it on. Afterwards I brushed my teeth and evil curly hair, trying to rake the comb through it, and my success was… limited.

Exasperated, I tossed the comb back into my bag and put on my usual black hairband with a bow and walked back out, wrinkling my nose as I messed with the uniform. A black sweater with a red tie and plaid skirt, along with Mary-Janes makes me look even younger than I already did. Great.

I started to roll my luggage out the door, across the smooth wooden floors of my house. I entered the dining room where my parents were, discussing something about taxes, stocks, and whatever.

They looked back up when they saw me and I swear, I think I saw my dad start to tear up. Oh, that's not disturbing at all. My mother patted his back awkwardly, giving me a wink while I nodded back and grabbed a piece of toast.

"It's a co-ed school though!" he protested violently while my mother sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Honey, she's going into middle school! What do you think she's going to do, perform underage se—" He cut her off, putting his hands firmly over his ears.

"I don't even want to _think_ about that. But, now that you mention it, yeah! I mean, what if those boys _rape_ her?" he whispered, horrified. She snorted. I, on the other hand, being the only sane person left in this family, choked on my toast.

"Dad," I said, before my mom could cause any unnecessary strokes, "it'll be fine. Amu, Utau, and Yaya will be there. You know… girls. Besides, you always knew Seiyo starts off with an all-girl and all-boy elementary school and then merges into co-ed middle school and high-school," I pointed out. He frowned.

"I hadn't realized you'd grown up so fast, Rima. I mean, already, you're going to middle school…" Isn't it bad if it's the father who's more emotional than the mother or the daughter? I'm pretty sure it's unhealthy.

I stood up and patted his balding head. "I think I forgot something upstairs," I told them. "I'll be right back."

I walked briskly away, and went upstairs, trying to ignore my father's continuous rambles of nostalgia. I paused in front of the door, but I pushed it open. I looked at that empty spot with narrowed eyes, but gave up eventually, touching it with the tips of my fingers.

"Sorry, mom, dad," I whispered to the air as I turned back to that corner with an almost bitter smile. That memory from such a long time ago, maybe precious, maybe not, but I held onto it and clung tightly to it. I was mutually attached to it, so attached that no matter how hard I tried to forget, I can't. It won't leave my mind; it always comes back.

I know that it was him who did it. I mean, obviously, who else at the time could it have been? I remember nearly screaming when he dropped down from the window, from the second floor, and yet somehow, he landed safely. I remember my parents rushing into this room while I hid in bed; the two of them calling the police and they discussed things under hushed tones.

I knew that they didn't dare to bring up the subject of a thief in our house. They were scared that I would break like a fragile doll (which may explain why they've tried to arrange so many appointments with all of these therapists). But, I _knew_ who did it. I always did.

But I never told a soul.

I back-tracked out of the room, and personally, I wasn't even sure whether or not I was relieved to be leaving this house or sad to be leaving this house. I ran to my room and opened a drawer. I took out the square piece of cloth carefully, smoothing it out with my hands. It was a delicate cream color with lace all around. In the corner was a tiny Sakura blossom and two letters: _F.N._ I refolded the handkerchief, tucking it into my pocket. Ever since that night, I always had it with me, no matter what.

It was the only piece of proof that I had that that night wasn't a dream, that it was reality.

I returned downstairs and smirked as I watched my dad zip up his coat and lug around my suitcase, mumbling things (not very kind things either) underneath his breath. My mom put on her scarf, giving him a pointed look. "We'll be waiting in the car," she whispered in my ear as they both exited.

I turned around. "Well, I guess this is good-bye, Tomoyo." Tears welled in her eyes. Seriously, I'm only going to middle school. I'm not committing suicide here. Then again, she had always been a grandmotherly figure to me, so I thought she might react this way.

I gave her a small smile while I hugged her, and she returned it tightly (I tried to refrain from making choking noises). She looked me over from arms-length and nodded her head furiously. "Oh Rima-san, I just know you'll turn into a wonderful girl."

What the…

I heard a loud honk from outside. Seems like Daddy Dearest is growing impatient. Before I could ask what the _heck_ that random little side comment meant, Tomoyo pushed me out the door and waved as I ran over and forced the door open, climbing inside hurriedly.

"Jeez Dad, give me a heart attack why don't you?" I mumbled sarcastically from the back. I flicked open my cell-phone, clicking away on the keyboard.

**To:** Amu

**From: **Rima

**Subject: **None

Amu, are you at the station yet?

After a few seconds, I felt it vibrate. I swear, Amu has no life _but _to text away.

**To: **Rima

**From: **Amu

**Subject: **None

No! I woke up late this morning, so I'm still at home! What if I miss the train?

I was slightly amused. Of course Amu woke up late on the day back to school.

**To: **Amu

**From: **Rima

**Subject: **Sucks to be you.

Oh. Then you're screwed.

I snapped it back shut, since she was probably rushing around enough as it is.

"Is Amu-chan there?" my father called back worriedly.

"No, she's… going to be late." I heard my mom chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'm sure one of the boys will be there," she said, tilting her head a bit to look at me. I nodded. Most likely Kairi will be there, since he's oh-so very punctual. Then I realized that what my mother just said was a dastardly mistake.

"_B-Boys?"_ my dad stuttered, and the car swerved. I cringed as I heard a loud blare of a horn from nearby. My father honked back, yelling a few swear words back at him via the window.

Ah Tokyo; I'm going to miss it and its insane taxi drivers who always manage to out-cuss you.

"Honey, calm down," my mother said nonchalantly.

"Stupid taxi driver."

I allowed a small smile to curl onto my face as my dad continued ranting on about retarded taxi drivers, and my mother endured it, nodding her head every once in awhile.

"I know sweetie, they're so incredibly heartless," she said in a monotone. I snickered at her predicament, and she pursed her lips in response. "Honey, why don't you text one of your friends again?" she asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"Fine. I'll text _Yaya_," I said, putting an emphasis on the name. I heard a loudly relieved sigh from up front.

**To: **Yaya

**From: **Rima

**Subject: **None

Are you at the station?

I patiently awaited the familiar sense of my phone vibrating. It did so a few seconds later. What can I say; none of my friends actually have lives.

**To: **Rima

**From: **Yaya

**Subject: **Almost!

Nope, not yet~ Yaya had to go buys some more sweets and cakes before getting there. I didn't have enough last time, so I got more! :D –XOXO, Yaya

Yaya… plus _more _candy… I rubbed my temples. I already _know_ that I'm going to get a migraine once we get on that train.

I glanced back out the window. I really was going to miss Tokyo, what with its obnoxiously loud personality and its charmingly egoistic personality, it was _home_.

I watched as the tall skyscrapers that grazed the sky flashed by, and I swear, I thought I saw a flash of violet. I jumped for only a second, but we had already passed. I shook my head; what would be the odds of seeing some kid I saw years ago? If something like that happened, I swear I'll belt out 'It's a Small World After All'.

I noticed that the car was slowing until it stopped in front of the train station. I could hear sniffling from in front of me. Thankfully, it was actually _feminine_ sounding, which meant my dad might've actually manned up. Shocker.

"Oh. Kairi's over there," I said, pointing at the green-haired boy from afar. I saw him from the gleam he created with his glasses when he pushed them up. I heard my dad say another swear word (and they wonder where I hear these things from?) under his breath.

"I'll examine him to see if he is up to standards," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Dad. You've known Kairi since third grade," I pointed out, crossing my arms. "You say that you might even like him the best."

"You don't know how adolescence changes boys, Rima! They go through puberty and suddenly they want to do all of these… these _things!_" he exclaimed. I was tempted to roll my eyes. I didn't want a health lesson, thanks.

I looked up to see somebody tapping on the window. Kairi. I gave him a wave, and he raised an eyebrow inquisitively as he watched my dad glare death at him. My mother gave Kairi an apologetic look as I got out of the car.

"I didn't think you saw me," I whispered to him.

"I didn't. I saw your father having a conniption in there," he replied.

"And I'm guessing I'm late, am I right?" I asked as my dad helped me lug my suitcase out of the trunk. Afterwards, both of my parents saw Kairi's parents and they quickly lapsed into conversation. He nodded, pushing up his glasses again.

"By five minutes and thirty seven seconds," he told me. "Thirty eight… Thirty nine… Forty…"

"I'm here!" somebody shouted. I winced. I could recognize that voice anywhere. It was practically the same as Yaya's, except more masculine.

"Yo, Mashiro, Sanjou!" he yelled over the crowd. Kairi muttered under his breath.

"Late by five minutes and forty three seconds, Souma-san," he told the russet-haired boy. He ruffled his hair playfully.

"Aw, c'mon Sanjou! No need to be such a stick in the mud." Then he noticed me again. Shoot. I was so sure he had forgotten that I was here…

"Mashiro!" he said, also proceeding to ruffle my hair. I grimaced. He may be one of my close friends, but come on, what is _with_ this habit of messing with my hair?

"Kukai," I acknowledged. Then I turned towards them gravely. "Did you hear?"

Kukai's eyes widened, as did Kairi's. "Ace?"

I gave him a single inquisitive look. "Why do you call Yaya 'Ace' anyways?" He shrugged.

"Whenever we play cards, she always swipes all of the Aces first in 'Goldfish'. Hence, the name Ace," he said proudly. Only Kairi could make an observation like that.

"Anyways, yeah," Kukai giving Kairi a slightly strange look. "She's… bringing more candy?"

"She said that last time wasn't enough," I said, rubbing my temples again. "Even though last time, they nearly kicked us off the train into the river, since she was practically bouncing off the walls."

"That's Yaya," Kukai said with a toothy grin. "Where are the Tsukiyomi's and Tadase?"

"They're probably coming here together. Tadase'll probably be late since the Tsukiyomi's take forever."

"It's mostly because of Utau though, huh?" Kukai said thoughtfully. "She has to do a crap-ton of stuff because she has such horrible bed-head and such. To even reach a state of normalcy, she has to do all of this fake stuff, like makeup and whatever... I mean, it's almost _shameful_."

"What?" I silently laughed at the two boys' predicament. The blonde-haired girl's violet eyes flashed with rage and secret threats of murdering them in their beds at night. Her hand clenched in a fist, she took a step towards them, giving them a small sweet smile. "Care to repeat that?"

"N… No," they stammered, backing away from the enraged girl. Kairi had this huge 'What the heck did I say?' look on his face.

I greeted her. "Hey Utau." She nodded back in return. She was much too focused on her prey. Her parents, along with Kukai's (he had been too fast for them before) scurried over to join the slowly increasing group of parents.

"Utau-chan…" I turned around and saw Tadase looking amused by the girl trying to kill the other two boys. "Hello, Mashiro-san."

Before I could reply, I felt somebody pat my head. "Mornin' shrimp."

I wonder why I stay friends with these people if all they give me are headaches. I pointed at Utau. "Either of you two going to stop her? Because I'm not going to."

Tadase considered it for a second and he watched Utau as she kept advancing on them, cornering them. "… I think I value my life."

We turned towards the 'responsible' older brother. He scoffed. "What, me? I value my life too. I'm not suicidal."

"What with the way you drop out of windows from the second floor, you kinda are," I retorted. Tadase chuckled. He scowled.

"Rima-tan!" A squeal pierced the air, and I think we _all_ know where the heck it came from. I watched the shape get steadily closer, and then I side-stepped. Needless to say, she face-planted into the ground.

"Rima-tan!" she whined, pouting. I gave her an innocent smile in reply.

"Good morning, Yaya."

The two boys who were presently being tormented by Utau perked up at the sound of Yaya and ran over, hiding behind her. Yaya, who was utterly oblivious and confused, gave her a big grin. "Hi, Utau-chan!" she cheered. Then she turned around to face the frightened wimps.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Yaya, just stay in front of us at _all times_, okay?" Kukai said firmly, replacing her in front of them.

Utau growled. "Wimps, hiding behind Yaya because you know I won't hurt her."

Yaya gasped suddenly and ran away, leaving both Kukai and Kairi in the open. They backed away more as Utau grinned maniacally. "Amu-chii!" Yaya shouted as she ran towards the pink-haired girl, who was panting as she stood in front of us.

Yaya, who seemed to have had chocolate waffles for breakfast, squeezed her to death. "Amu-chii didn't see Yaya at _all_ during the break."

"What are you talking about?" she argued. "I saw you yesterday, when we went shopping with Utau and Rima."

"Yaya was still lonely though! And Utau and Rima didn't see Yaya either!" she added, giving us each a pointed glare. That girl never changes. Utau and I exchanged a glance and decided to just ignore the comment.

Kairi quickly recollected himself as he pushed his glasses up again. Kukai stood up as well, and both tried to remain as far away from Utau as possible. Utau gave them a look, but most likely decided to take pity on them and ended up ignoring them.

"I hate these uniforms," she said in disgust, gesturing towards her black blazer and red tie with plaid skirt. "They're so ugly. Even if you alter them they suck."

The guys, who simply didn't give a crap, shrugged. "Who cares? It's school."

Boys. They'll never learn that girls care about their clothes, no matter _where_ they are.

Amu disregarded the comment and nodded in agreement with Utau. "I know," she groaned. She, along with Utau, liked to mess around with the uniform to have more 'individuality'. I exchanged a glance with Yaya, who hadn't changed her uniform either. I prefer to keep things simple, even if they are ugly.

Ikuto suddenly walked back to us (… when'd he leave?) and was looking at the newspaper. Kairi's eyes shined. "Looking at the newspaper for the latest interesting pieces of news?" he asked excitedly. Mostly since he was a kid encyclopedia and could tell Ikuto all that crap himself.

The midnight-haired high-schooler shook his head. "My mom's making me find a… job," he said disdainfully. Yaya proceeded to take it and started looking at it for him, murmuring things to herself. Then suddenly she pointed gleefully.

"Oh look, Ikuto! A cat-sitter! That'd be perfect for you!" she exclaimed, jamming that part of the paper in his face. He made a face, but looked… intrigued. He always did have a soft spot for cats.

"Holy crap!" Kukai shouted, snatching the paper from Ikuto (who seemed annoyed by the fact that people kept taking his lovely newspaper). "He strikes again," he said in a mock serious tone. Utau whacked him upside the head while Yaya grabbed the paper again, licking a lollipop while doing so.

"He's quick and makes zero mistakes," Kairi read over her shoulder. "He's already succeeded in stealing various precious things from about thirty families, most of them being very prestigious homes."

Everybody paused and stared at me, their looks driving a stake through me. I faced them with my cold façade in place, arching a single eyebrow at them. "Yes?"

Amu was the first to break out of it. "Nothing."

"Anyways," Tadase quickly said hastily, taking the newspaper yet again (Ikuto looked ready to pummel somebody), "it's quite impressive how he hasn't been caught yet. I mean, after pulling off so many heists, you'd think…"

"Right, right!" Kukai and Kairi automatically agreed. Ikuto stole back his newspaper, rolled it up, and then whacked all three with it.

"Shut up; shrimp's not an idiot," he said while the other three rubbed their heads, Kukai sticking his tongue out at him, Kairi's glasses askew, and Tadase just sighing. Pft, finally, somebody who doesn't underestimate me.

"As much as I appreciate the recognition, the 'shrimp' part killed it," I said dryly. A smirk made way onto his face, but it dropped when a guy from nearby screamed in his ear.

"Seiyo middle-school students and high-school students please load!"

Ikuto, who was preparing to secretly kick him, was quickly pushed along by Utau towards the other high-schoolers who were already filing inside the train. He walked there leisurely, joining his friends as he went inside.

"Let's go!" Yaya cheered, as did Kukai. He was only excited for the sports teams, Yaya for the massive amounts of candy she could now consume on the bus.

Amu, Kairi, and Tadase cheered half-heartedly. Utau, who was obviously still bitter about the whole sucky uniforms thing, grimaced. I wasn't exactly 'happy' about waking up this early on a Saturday just to go back to school. I waved at my parents: my mom waved hard after me, and I could tell my dad was still unhappy, but he raised his hand in a sad form of farewell nevertheless.

We went inside and pretty much occupied a whole entire room with the seven of us. I saw a few familiar faces, and we waved every now and then, and a couple stopped to say hi. I swear, I saw fanboys and fangirls crowd around the glass, watching us until somebody shooed them along.

I shuddered. "After not seeing them for awhile, I just realized, yet again, how creepy it is to have stalkers," I muttered. Amu was still looking in horror at a particular boy who was drooling onto the window.

Once everybody was seated, we finally started moving. I tapped my fingers against the window, looking outside. In the reflection, I could see Yaya inhaling obscene amounts of sweets.

"Somebody stop her!" Amu said, panicking. "What if we get kicked out?" Tadase and Kairi looked almost awed by Yaya, who was only picking up the pace. Kukai was laughing.

"That's Yaya for you!"

Utau said scornfully, "They don't have the nerve to kick us out. They'd get sued by some of the richest families in Japan."

"… That makes us sound so spoiled."

"Some of us are here on scholarship," Kairi added.

"As if your family couldn't get you in with money too, Kairi. They're distributing millions of Sanjou laptops across the sea, and you know it," Yaya said through a mouthful of candy. We all stared. Who knew Yaya was so smart?

"What?" she complained. "After being neighbors with both Kairi and Kukai for years, Yaya knows a lot about them! Like… Yaya knows that when Kukai was two he –mph!" she was stopped abruptly when Kukai placed his hand over her mouth.

"No! You promised!" he yelled. She waved him off, giggling.

"Fine, fine. Yaya won't tell."

"Oh, an embarrassing childhood secret?" Utau said, taking out her cell-phone. "I'm recording."

"What? Why?"

"Blackmail, obviously."

"Yaya, don't! I'll be tormented for the rest of my life!" The rest of his sorry life, yes.

"Anyways, how long does it take to get to Seiyo?" Kairi inquired, saving Kukai. He breathed a sigh of relief, patting Kairi on the back gratefully.

Amu looked thoughtful. "Um… not long. But we have to go over the bridge and everything… thirty minutes, right?"

Yaya nodded. "Yaya should've bought more!" she said, her eyes turning shiny with unshed tears as she showed everybody her empty bag. Already, she's done? She's going to suck the world dry of sugar one day. "Kukai, buy Yaya more candy!"

"What? Why me?"

"Because you lost Yaya's pencil last week!" Tadase cracked up at the look on Kukai's face.

"You're kidding! Sanjou's dog ate it!"

Kairi looked indignant. "Gigi didn't eat it!" Gigi the labradoodle. Great name Kairi. "Hoshina-san took it to sign that document!"

Utau glowered at him. "I did not!"

"Gigi wouldn't eat a _pencil_. She would have choked," Kairi responded logically.

"So… that means the only _real_ answer is that Kukai lost it, right?" I said aloud, kicking my legs. "And let's face it; it wouldn't be all that surprising if he did anyways."

"Thanks, Mashiro. Thanks."

"Mhmm," I replied, giving him a sickly-sweet smile.

"So now you get to buy Yaya candy as compensation!"

"Whoever is rooming with Yaya is going to be expelled along with her if she gets anymore sweets," Amu remarked. Yaya moped.

"What's that supposed to mean, Amu-chii?" she whined.

"It means that if you start going on sugar rampages again, they're going to kick you to the curb like beggars," I told her. "Which means, basically speaking, no more candy for you."

She crossed her arms and huffed like a feral child (which she was, presently). "Fine, then Kukai… you can buy me stickers!" she said, immediately brightening up.

"Have fun with that," Utau sniggered. "Yaya and stickers are just about as worse as her with sweets."

"She'll stick them everywhere. Do you know what that means?" Amu asked tauntingly. He shook his head slowly. I decided to enlighten him.

"It means she'll stick all kinds of bright, girly stickers on your notebook, like 'My Little Pony'."

"Rima-tan! Yaya doesn't watch that!" Yaya cried out defensively. It was too late though; the image seemed to be burned into Kukai's mind (as it was with the other boys) of lollipops and rainbows all over their stuff. They looked horrified.

"You'd be real chick magnets with that stuff," Utau said wryly, laughing at their faces.

Tadase blinked and got out of his reverie first. Kairi quickly snapped out of it too, but Kukai, who was the most involved, still seemed utterly terrified.

"Aren't Hotori-san and Souma-san quite popular with the girls already?" he asked as he smoothed out his uniform. Although _how_ they are so popular may forever be a mystery.

"Kairi, don't exclude yourself from the 'populars'," Amu retorted, crossing her arms. He only managed to look confused.

"'Populars' is not a word, Hinamori-san."

"You didn't know, Kairi?" Yaya asked, ignoring his previous words (she was still depressed about her candy though). "Yaya knew! Yaya's even seen your fanclub stalk you!"

"Eh? When?" he gawked.

She tapped her cheek as she tried to remember. "Um… I think it was when Yaya and Kairi had to go buy groceries for Yaya's mommy!"

"… Oh, that time when you dropped all of the oranges?" Yaya nodded enthusiastically. "That's… nice."

"You mean disturbing," Tadase corrected under his breath. I saw Amu look momentarily delighted (after all, he was always so nice to his fans), but she immediately went back to her cool façade.

"… We're almost there." I pointed towards the massive building. I only recognized it from the pamphlets they kept distributing.

"Finally," Kukai mumbled to himself for the first time since the stickers were mentioned, and presently, was most likely hoping Seiyo doesn't sell 'My Little Pony' stickers.

A lady with a bullhorn came out, yelling to be heard over the voices of screaming insane middle-school kids, "Once you get off of the bus, go report to the lobby for your room assignments and classes! Luggage will be _delivered!_"

… And while she left, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, saying, "I need an Advil."

"Huh, somehow, we managed to not get yelled at _once_ on the whole trip here. New record. Nice job, Yaya," Utau said as she flicked through her text messages. Yaya tilted her head, smiling widely.

"Thank you, Utau-chan!" she said brightly. Amu shook her head, looking half ashamed, half amused. Utau, who hadn't heard, was too busy trying to force the door open. In doing so, she may have just crushed five or ten people.

"Oops." She walked out and dusted herself off. "Sorry," she quickly added as she strolled off briskly in that Utau-like fashion. I daintily stepped out and walked after her, Amu and Yaya following. I reached into my pocket and patted the square piece of fabric, making sure it was still there. To my relief, it hadn't fallen out or anything.

Utau was stretching by the time I got to where she was. "I hate trains," she said grouchily. "At least there was a bit of entertainment though."

I shrugged. Yaya smiled up at the sky. "Hooray! It's sunny!" she cried out, dancing around in the warm sunlight.

Suddenly Kukai appeared behind her, and, right in her ear, he yelled, "Yaya!"

She whirled around and punched him while screaming, "Rapist!" Luckily, Kukai dodged fast enough to not get hit _that_ hard. Yaya pounded on his back angrily, and Kairi and Tadase watched from the sidelines unsympathetically.

"Great. Now people are staring," I said dully. They were, but then Utau yelled at them to get a life and to stop listening in on other peoples' business. That certainly got them moving. "In truth, I'm surprised Yaya knows the word rapist."

Yaya stopped using Kukai as a punch-bag for a second and blinked. "Yaya only knows that word because Yaya's parents always say that whenever a boy goes up to you and offers you stuff, it's always a rapist. Always," she ended with a creepy finality. Oh, because that's not strange at all.

"Ow," Kukai groaned, popping his back. "Man, now my back hurts."

"You sound like an old man. Look, even your back is arched," Utau pointed out, making the shape with her fingers.

"All you need is a cane to finish off the look," Amu said with fake cheer, a dry smile on her lips.

"And that, Souma-kun, is why you don't scare girls," Tadase told him, patting him on the back gingerly. Kairi nodded seriously next to him.

"Anyways, we'd better go get our room assignments and stuff," Kukai said, backing away from Yaya warily. Yaya smiled innocently (… normally, actually), and waved goodbye as all three left. Kukai was still limping.

"We'll see you at lunch!" Kukai hollered while Tadase and Kairi visibly winced at how loud he was. Seriously, he was Yaya's _twin_.

"Didn't we apply for roommates?" I asked as we shuffled our way to the girls' dorm.

"Pretty much. All we did was list people we'd like to be with," Utau said as she put her hands behind her back. "And besides, ever since that thief person's been going around, they've been really uptight on who's rooming with whom lately. Apparently, a lot of parents have been protesting and now you have to be roomed with somebody you know. Sucks for the new kids."

"You sound so sympathetic, Utau."

"I am; it just doesn't show very well," she said haughtily as she marched into the lobby. Already I could see the usual things: lost kids, people milling around, and girls tackling each other and squealing.

The line was pretty short; I guess we were a bit late or something. We walked over and the lady looked up, snapping her bubblegum loudly. This lady seemed to be a teenager stuck in a fifty-year old's body. Ouch.

"Name?"

"Hoshina Utau," Utau immediately complied. She tapped her foot and we exchanged a glance as the lady blew a bubble.

"Your roommate is Yuiki Yaya. Here's your schedule," she drawled. Yaya shrieked happily in the background. The woman considered Yaya.

"Are you Yuiki-san?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Here; it's your schedule." Then she turned towards Amu.

"Name?"

"Hinamori Amu."

She searched through the list (who knew there were so many Hinamori's enrolled here?) until she tapped the name. "Roommate is Mashiro Rima and your schedule," she said, handing her the sheet of paper. She looked down at me.

"… I'm sorry, but your little sister isn't allowed here," she stated flatly. Amu glanced back at me and registered my pissed expression. "She's very cute, but I'm afraid she'll need to return to the elementary school section."

I gave her a sweet smile and walked up to the desk. "I'm Mashiro Rima. Can I have my schedule?" I asked her through clenched teeth.

Her bubble popped and she stopped chewing (for what seemed to be the first time in her life). She hurriedly handed me my papers and quickly looked around me for the next person, as if trying to ignore the fact she just insulted me. Or avoid it, most likely.

"At least we're roommates?" Amu said hesitantly. I nodded stiffly. Utau, however, who had come back over, started laughing.

"Again?"

"Shut it."

"Anyways, let's head to our rooms and then go to the auditorium. Assembly! Hooray," Utau said with just the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Yaya already raced there to call dibs on which bed. Like it matters."

"… Can we ditch her? I don't want to get detention on the first day," I said aloud. We all exchanged a look, considering it.

"She'd be crying all night long; I have to sleep y'know," Utau said grumpily as she promptly dragged both Amu and me off towards our rooms. Darn.

We separated as Utau went down another hallway and we kept walking straight. "Too bad we're not all next to each other," Amu said unhappily as she unlocked the door.

"It's not like we'll never see each other again," I replied as I walked in and landed on the right side bed. The luggage was somehow magically there, and Amu looked around the room for a bit.

"Wow. You'd think they'd change the interior design from elementary to middle school," she said critically.

All of a sudden, a series of clicks and dings filled the air. I scrambled for my phone and scrolled through the texts. "Yaya," I informed Amu. "She wants us to come to their room and then go to the auditorium." We'd only been here for five seconds, and already we have to leave. Thanks Yaya.

"Ew. I kind of want to skip the assembly," Amu said as she closed the door behind us. "They're so pointless. It's the same thing every year."

A girl passing by looked surprised. I recognized her as Wakana-san. "Eh? Mashiro-san, Amu-chan, didn't you know? The assembly's canceled. The principal had another appointment or something."

"You know, I've never seen our principal before..." Amu said to me as we kept walking, thanking Wakana-san.

"Meh, me neither. But who cares? It's not like he really matters."

As soon as we got there, Amu knocked loudly on the door repeatedly, until we finally faced a rather pissed off Utau at the door. "Shut up!"

"Nice to see you again too," I retorted as I entered. Yaya was bouncing on her bed over and over. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Yaya's burning off her extra energy because Utau-chan told Yaya to!" she said, her voice varying as she came up and landed back down. Of course. Smart move, Utau. I turned around and saw Amu telling Utau about the cancellation.

"Assembly's canceled? That means we can go to the cafeteria before the stampede heads over," Utau said, checking her watch. "I'll text the guys."

It took her about five seconds until she snapped it shut and told Yaya to stop jumping on the bed. We walked out and headed over there. People were still looking lost as they tried to navigate around the huge school. Good luck with that, idiots.

Amu pushed open the heavy oak doors of the huge cafeteria and revealed three familiar faces. "Hey."

"Hello, Hinamori-san," Kairi said as he pushed up his glasses. There are times I wonder if that's annoying or if it's just become a reflex.

"Who're your roommates?" Utau asked, getting straight to the point. Kukai jabbed his thumb towards Tadase with a crooked grin.

"Tadase."

She nodded her head at Kairi, who sighed, looking almost mildly irritated. He ruffled his dark green hair (abnormal hair color much?) with his fingers.

"It appears my roommate shall be late and will be coming in later today or tomorrow. His name is Fujisaki Nagihiko."

_01. Stealing for Keeps: _Traveling & Settling

* * *

_Oh look, it's my pathetic excuse for a cliffy! Hooray. __HOLY CARP. I bet you guys saw this coming. Or maybe you didn't. I don't know; I don't read minds. I wish I did though... -_- Oh, and besides THAT fact, this chapter's really boring. Sorry. ^^'  
_

_... Oh right. Ha, er, I think I'm going to continue this, since I got so much positive feedback and such. Hopefully I'm not being too repetitive, they're not OOC, grammar's okay, and et cetera. If you've got something to say, you can tell me. I don't mind constructive criticism, and, quite disappointingly, I don't have rabies, so even if I DO bite, it's not like anything HORRENDOUS will happen. _

_:) Anyways, hopefully this was okay. And don't tell me my chapter title's retarded, as is my ending. BLEARGH, I KNOW. Yeah. So don't shoot me. I prefer living, thanks._

_Anonymous Reviewers: _

_Anonymous Reviewer 1: Hooray, thanks! :D 'Intrigue' was one of the things I was aiming to get. :3 Yeah, I didn't notice that till you pointed that out, so I should work on that. ^^' I do it a ton though. Thank you for reviewing~ :)_

_Anonymous Reviewer 2: I'm definitely not planning on dropping Sparks will Fly, since I really like writing that story too. Even if it does make me wanna cry at night because I want to shoot myself because I don't know what the heck to write. XD No worries though, I'm going to try to do both. :3_

_Oh, by the way, if you'd like to leave a name if you're anonymous. It might help, since I don't think you want me to refer to you as 'Anonymous Reviewer 1, 2, 3' etc. Oh, but thanks for the reviews and everything! They always make me feel all happy. And stuff. Oh, and for the favorites and the alerts too! Basically, EVERYTHING is loved. ;)  
_

_I do suppose that's it. Thanks for reading~ And, if you'd like, drop a review. They're always appreciated! :D  
_

_-Bluey-san  
_


	3. 02 A Coincidence

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~I don't think I'll ever own Shugo Chara! That makes me sad.~_

_

* * *

_

_02. Stealing for Keeps: _A Coincidence

He entered the room with an air of carefully constructed self-confidence. A shape shifted in the shadows and he walked and sat down before the form, his eyes flicking around his surroundings.

It was the same cold room, the same cruel eyes peeking from the darkness, and the same frigid hands closing around his beating heart. Nothing ever changes. And even though he felt like he was suffocating, he held his ground and showed none of the fear he always had. Just like always.

"I presume that it was a success?" That voice always made his skin crawl. He nodded immediately, and he was completely expressionless. After all, when wasn't it a success?

"Very good. Well then, time for school, isn't it?" This time, he allowed a smile to curl onto his face, although the gesture itself was void of any humor. There was no laughter where he was right now.

"Of course… Mother."

**Rima's POV**

Fujisaki Nagihiko. I stiffened at the initials, but relaxed again. I'm over-thinking this. I mean, there are millions of people with the initials 'F.N.'.

_Millions._

"-ima? Rima?" I blinked a few times before looking into several pairs of eyes. "You were spacing out. What's up?"

"Nothing," I said automatically.

"Rima-tan! Tell Yaya right now!" Yaya demanded. Utau couldn't help but nod in firm agreement. Amu wouldn't make me; she was usually the one who begged for privacy.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

… Dang it. Kukai patted me on the back. "Yeah, Mashiro, we're all buds here!"

"Kukai, since _when_ has a pat on the back helped _anything_?" I asked through gritted teeth. He stopped.

"I'm perfectly fine anyways," I said stubbornly. I checked my watch. "Are we going to eat before everybody comes?"

Yaya shrugged. "Yaya's not hungry; are you guys?"

Kukai, who's a monster, of course nodded. He and Utau stalked off to go order huge bowls of ramen to go compete without even talking. More of an impulse reaction.

Kairi rubbed his glasses against the hem of his uniform. "Not generally, but I believe I shall go order some sushi to get my energy up."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea, Sanjou-kun," Tadase said with a smile.

"Yaya doesn't want sushi! Yaya wants candy!"

"Yaya, one day you're going to get diabetes," Amu scolded. Tadase laughed as they started walking away. I sighed and followed, waiting patiently in line for a change. I needed to think.

I closed my eyes; in truth, the memory was in perfect clarity. Or, at least, I could remember _him_ in perfect clarity. It wasn't hard; he was pretty memorable. I opened my eyes again and took out the handkerchief. The scent of the Sakura blossoms had disappeared a long time ago.

"Rima, it's your turn to order." My head snapped back up and I hurriedly tucked the square piece of fabric back into the safety of my pocket. Amu looked suspicious, but the look just as quickly faded, so I just dismissed it.

"I'll have the same as the girl with the abnormally pink hair," I said absent-mindedly, ignoring the indignant cry of Amu. I plopped down into a lunch seat and watched Utau and Kukai eat at an inhuman speed. One day, they're going to choke on their food from doing these competitions.

"What time do classes start again?" I inquired, desperately trying not to think about _him_ anymore. He made my head hurt; it wasn't healthy to constantly think about somebody I didn't know anyways.

Kairi opened his mouth, only to be pushed away by an eager Yaya. Kairi looked sour for a second, but then went back to being a spectator of the ramen competition.

"Yaya knows! It starts after lunch ends! The cafeteria closes at… two o'clock, Yaya thinks, so classes start at… two fifteen? Right? Kairi!" she yelled, shaking him. Kairi, who was growing increasingly irritated, just nodded.

"That is correct, Ace."

"Don't call Yaya 'Ace'!" she returned. We all jumped though, when somebody loudly slammed down their ramen bowl. Utau.

"Done," she said, satisfied. Kukai sighed but ended up smiling anyways. Ah, sportsmanship.

"Good game, Blondie," Kukai said, holding out his hand. Utau grimaced at the nickname (Blondie? Very original) but shook his hand anyways.

"Are you guys done?" Utau asked impatiently, tapping her foot. Well, excuse _me _for not eating like starved apes.

"No," I deadpanned. I chewed on a piece of sushi and looked at Amu. "What is this?"

"Is it good?" Amu asked curiously as she ate another piece.

"Mediocre."

Amu rolled her eyes. Tadase and Kairi snickered as one of the chefs raised his butcher knife threateningly behind my back. "I saw that," I called back to him. He scowled and went back to work.

"That's our Mashiro: that girl who manages to piss off an adult on the very first day," Kukai said, ruffling my hair.

"Kukai, you touch my hair again, I think I might borrow that chef's butcher knife."

He stopped instantly. "Why is everybody only hurting me?" he whined. "Utau tormented me at the train station, Yaya punched me, and now Mashiro's threatening me. What'd I do?"

"You scared poor Yaya!" Yaya cried out in defense. "It's a girl's instinct to punch a creeper!"

He prompted Utau. "What's your excuse?"

She looked him over and frowned. "Nothing, really. You just annoyed me, so you faced the consequences. Simple. Those are the rules of life, Kukai."

Kukai stared at Utau, and then rubbed the back of his neck. "I really should've seen that coming, shouldn't I?"

"Yes. You really should have," I stated dully.

"Hinamori, looks like you're the only normal girl here!" Kukai cheered. I raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. Normal by Kukai standards? You're one lucky girl, Amu," I said sarcastically. Yaya cracked up, as did Tadase and Kairi. Utau and me high-fived. Kukai and Amu both only managed to look offended.

The cafeteria was starting to fill up. People were filing into the huge area, and they were only getting faster. We took up our empty plates and threw them into the trash. I passed by the frustrated chef I had seen earlier and gave him a sweet smile. He glowered at me. Remind me to never order from there again. For some reason, I have a feeling my food would be poisoned if I did.

"What time is it?" Kukai asked as we walked out of the lunch room. Kairi beat Yaya to the punch.

"One thirty," Kairi supplied. "I suggest we go to the classroom so we can get prepared for our exciting assignments!" Really. I can never tell if he's kidding or not. It's almost sad.

"Whoo," Yaya cheered unenthusiastically. She pouted unhappily and complained loudly, "Yaya doesn't want to go to class! Yaya wants to… sleep!"

"Ace, it is required that all children go to school. Otherwise, it's truancy," Kairi reprimanded her.

"Besides, education is very important," Tadase said, but I could tell he was just saying it so Yaya would stop complaining. "Without it, society itself would collapse. The world would be filled with illiterates."

Amu, Utau, and I were all smart enough to not try. Kukai, on the other hand, secretly agreed with Yaya (he's only into school for the sports teams) but couldn't be a 'bad example' (and let's face it; he's _always_ a bad example), so he stayed quiet.

"Yaya knows, Yaya knows! Yaya just doesn't _want_ to!" Yaya said through puffed cheeks, crossing her arms across her chest. Utau started steering Yaya towards their room.

"Yeah, I kind of don't want to listen to another school lecture, so, we're leaving. Let's go Yaya!" Utau said as she started to drag Yaya away from us. Oh sure, leave _me_ with four idiots. I saw Utau flash me a momentary sympathetic look, mixed with hints of a –_ha, sucks for you- _look. She's such a fabulous friend.

"Amu, we're leaving," I said bluntly. I refused to be alone with four dummies. I can handle one, and seeing as how Amu's the only girl (admittedly, it's debatable, seeing as how all three have cross-dressed), I made her start walking away from them.

"See ya later, Mashiro, Hinamori!" Kukai yelled down the hallway, letting the loud sound reverberate and echo. And that's _exactly_ why I didn't want to stick around, because rounding the corner was a teacher. Pft, have fun with that Kukai.

Amu started giggling as soon as we left them behind. I flipped open my phone and checked the time. "It's one thirty seven now…"

"Kairi said that we should all go to class by two, that way we can get seats and so we won't be late," Amu piped up as she unlocked our door. Typical Kairi: he always plans ahead.

"Fine, fine, whatever," I quipped as I jumped onto my bed while grabbing one of my beloved gag mangas. I had already packed my school bag at home ahead of time; no point in doing it at school if I had some extra time.

"Eh, Rima, you don't need to pack?"

"Some of us didn't wake up late on the day school started. So no, I don't."

Amu frowned and started muttering under her breath as she tried to search for her textbooks and homework through her luggage. I snorted. "Were you in a rush this morning?" I asked dryly, gesturing towards the lumps of clothes she called 'folded'.

She ignored me and I continued reading, flipping the pages lazily. I stopped, though, when I heard Amu panicking. She slipped on a sheet of paper and fell on her butt. It was amusing, to say the least.

"Very smooth, Amu."

"Whatever, Rima," she huffed as she brushed herself off. "Go back to reading your gag manga."

"Gladly," I said back with a hidden grin as I returned to a world of black and white.

"Oh _shoot_," Amu said through clenched teeth as she tried to pry a single sheet of paper from underneath a particularly large mound of… stuff. I checked my phone. "It's one fifty-seven," I announced, hopping off of my bed, grabbing my own ordinary bag. "That went by fast."

Amu quickly returned to rushing, throwing things everywhere as she tried to scurry about and find her things. I swear, it's only our first day of school, and already it looks like somebody was forced to live here with no place to dispose of their garbage. Thanks Amu; I definitely appreciate it.

"I'm leaving," I said, strolling over to the door, hanging back for a second as Amu raced towards me.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

"Mhmm," was my response as I clicked the door shut behind me. I checked my schedule vaguely for a second, and then compared it to Amu's. "We have the same homeroom."

"Really?" Amu asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. She wasn't very good at it.

"… So where's our classroom?"

"I don't know," Amu said, starting to grow anxious again. "Kairi's going to kill us if we're late." And _when_, exactly, did Kairi get a sex change and become my mother?

I pointed ahead. Luckily for both of us, there was a huge stream of students leading towards the general area of our classes. Whoopee.

I walked into the classroom, only to be pounced on by Yaya. Unfortunately for me, I didn't manage to dodge this one. I was only half listening to Kairi's lecture. "- and now you're late, and I thought for _sure_ you had forgotten, and…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Kairi," Yaya interjected. "Who cares?"

Tadase interrupted before Kairi could start listing all of this stuff on why _he_, who is a person by some deranged logic, cared. "Anyways, aren't we lucky to all be in the same homeroom?"

Kairi pushed up his glasses. "It's not a coincidence, Hotori-san. As with the rooming incidents, they tried to put you with people you knew. As in, people you've had classes with before."

"That doesn't explain why _you_ have a roommate you don't know, Kairi."

Kairi rolled his shoulders. "It was due to late sign ups, I suppose. Besides that, I'm here on scholarship; no special favors."

Nobody wanted to even bother to point out that he was just as rich as the rest of us. We had already tried earlier anyways; no need to prove Kairi wrong (he rarely was anyways).

"And personally, I am looking forward to meeting Fujisaki-san."

Yaya smiled evilly. "Unless of course, he's the thief."

"The chances of that are so slim, it's not even laughable," Kairi shot back scornfully. He settled back down into his seat, twirling his pencil. "I doubt that this thief character would be our age. I mean, honestly, the thought of somebody as young as us fooling that many people? It'd be awe-inspiring. That is, if it was true," he quickly added as an after-thought.

Stupid Kairi for making a stupid comment so stupidly like that. He was reminding me again. I started to glare down at my desk. "Yeah, I guess it would be pretty amazing, wouldn't it?" I said frigidly. Everybody looked at me uncertainly, mostly since I just kind of… talked out of nowhere. I was somewhat surprised myself, but I didn't let it show.

Thankfully (not really; it signified that school was officially beginning), the teacher entered, clapping his hands loudly. "Yes, yes, that's enough!" he said, trying to get everybody's attention. When he finally managed to get it to a volume he could actually be somewhat heard over, he started talking.

"Hello class. I'm going to be your homeroom teacher. I'm Nikaidou Yuu, but you can just call me Yuu." I internally gagged. He was trying to get on our good side by asking us to call him by his first name? No thanks; I think I prefer 'Nikaidou-sensei' just fine with good old honorifics.

"So, why don't we begin class by turning in your English assignments?"

Groans resonated around the room, along with a certain worried and pissed off whisper that said, "Crap, we had English homework?"

Poor, typical Amu.

_~Time skip~ _

I made another tic mark on my paper. Nikaidou-sensei just decided to start out by collecting the summer homework, so right now, we weren't doing anything of particular interest. Kairi had forgotten zero amounts of homework. Tadase, one thing, but he had an excuse. Personally, I think it was mostly his _face_ that really had an effect, not his words.

Yaya's forgotten three things so far, which is a personal best for her, which is almost sad in a way. Amu… No comment.

"Who's losing?" Yaya asked. I gestured at the sheet.

"Amu-chii, I knew it!" Yaya squealed. "Yaya wins!" Kairi chuckled.

"Another bet with Kukai?" She nodded.

"He gets to buy Yaya as much candy as Yaya wants!" she said brightly. Kairi's face color paled a bit, as did Tadase's. Can you blame them? A hyperactive Yaya is dangerous for boys, since she has… 'tendencies' to start to decorate anything nearby. Of course, she did it in the girliest way possible.

Nikaidou-sensei (he still insists on being called 'Yuu'), was now trying to collect math homework. He was clumsy. In the past twenty minutes alone, he's tripped seven times, three times on paper, four times on thin air. He had messy hair and his clothes…

Well, let's just say Utau would have a fit if she ever saw this teacher.

Nikaidou-sensei was scolding a kid for having a cell-phone out, but was being ignored. Face it; you can't separate teenagers from technology. Parents have been trying for years and have never succeeded.

He stopped abruptly when a loud knock echoed from the door. He walked over in long strides and swung it open. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. I closed my eyes, bored, letting the sounds of the noisy classroom entertain me (to an extent).

Then, all of a sudden, the class became dead silent in a scary way. I let my eyes re-open. I was semi-curious as to what could make a bunch of rowdy teenagers shut up so fast, but not so much that I would stare along with them.

"What happened?"

Amu, who seemed to be disinterested in the situation (although in reality, she really was), nodded her head at the open door. "New kid, apparently. Somebody up front saw Nikaidou-sensei talking to someone."

I flopped back down. Just a new kid? It wasn't surprising; after all, it was the start of a new year. Even so, the whole class seemed to be anticipating this person. In the end, I decided that it wouldn't be anything much and went back to staring out the window for the lovely view of a dying tree. Hooray.

After awhile, Nikaidou-sensei came back, looking annoyed by the fact that the class was quiet (perhaps because he couldn't make us shut up, but some random student could), but put on a bright grin anyways. "Okay class; please welcome your new classmate!"

I heard everybody marvel at him, and soon the whispering began. I didn't even bother to look; the kids at Seiyo tended to blow things way out of proportion anyways.

"Rima," Amu hissed at me. "He's so… pretty. Look, look!"

Pretty? Honestly, if you describe a boy as looking 'pretty', doesn't that mean he's gay? I let go of a breath and decided to spare a glance at this person all the girls were swooning over.

As soon as I did, my eyes widened and I had to keep myself from screaming (which reminds me, I might have to sing 'It's a Small World After All' later…). He had long, violet hair and bright amber eyes. His skin was a pale white that contrasted with his dark hair. He seemed to be limber and he was tall. There was no way…

"This is Fujisaki Nagihiko-san," Nikaidou-sensei introduced. "Would you like to say anything to the class?"

His eyes flitted over the class, examining them each for a second. When his eyes looked at me, they paused a bit longer. They looked alarmed, but then they relaxed again and he looked away soon after.

He smiled at the class, but it was detached; the smile didn't reach his eyes. The eyes that I had at first thought were bright and cheerful seemed to be dull and lifeless. It was as if he was dreading something. I shook myself. The chances of the same guy appearing were so slim, I'm pretty sure… That it was impossible. It _is _impossible.

So why…?

"It's nice to meet you," he said softly. I slowly raised my head. That voice, admittedly, a bit deeper, was the same… I was sure of it.

The girls squealed. The guys, on the other hand, seemed to have an intense dislike for this new boy.

"I don't like him."

"What does he have that I don't?"

Oh, I don't know, maybe brains? Most of the guys at this school were stupid; I wouldn't be surprised if he was smarter than all of them.

"Eh, Kairi, that's your new roommate?" Yaya said excitedly. "He looks so cool! Maybe we could be friends! Right, Amu-chii, Rima-tan?"

Amu nodded easily. The number one thing you _don't_ do to Yaya is tell her she can't do something. It's best to just nod and let things roll.

I kept my eyes on Fujisaki as he made his way to his desk (or, tried, at least). Several girls crowded around him soon after. I realized it was silent where I was and turned to see everybody looking at me expectantly.

"Oooh, looks like the new boy's caught Rima-tan's eyes," Yaya shrieked, her eyes shining. After all, I rarely ever find interest in the other gender.

My eyes narrowed at her. "Shut up Yaya."

Kairi cleared his throat to stop Yaya from pestering me. "I believe I should go introduce myself." He stood up and Yaya bounced after him. Tadase and Amu exchanged a look but in the end also decided to go. I, on the other hand, was still debating. That is, I _was_ until Amu decided to take it upon herself to drag me towards him. Screw her.

Kairi cleared the way towards the violet-haired boy easily (he just has that kind of –_hey, I'm way smarter than you- _aura that made people separate). "Hello, Fujisaki-san. I am Sanjou Kairi, your roommate. It's a pleasure to meet you." He ended it with a bow.

Yaya pushed him aside. "Kairi's too formal. You're scaring him!" She then introduced herself to him as well, "Yuiki Yaya! It's nice to meet you!" She proceeded to shake his hand a bit too fast. The poor guy was starting to look overwhelmed.

I hid behind Amu, having the feeling that once he saw me, he'd run or something. Most definitely a peculiar hunch. "Hotori Tadase. Welcome to Seiyo, Fujisaki-san."

Amu stood in front of him coolly, hands on her hips. "Hinamori Amu." Amu didn't say much to him, for fear her façade would fall apart on her, and instead just stepped aside and revealed me. _Screw her._

He was looking at the others until he noticed somebody new. He gave me a smile, but it was sorrowful, in a way. He didn't show any hint of recognizing me though. His eyes were blank as he looked me over; just as blank as when he was meeting the others. I'll play along with him then.

I smacked myself internally. I had actually thought that this was the guy from a few years ago. The probability of that is… a very small number (shut up; math is not a strength of mine!).

"Mashiro Rima," I said quietly, my voice soft as a whisper. He looked startled but almost… pleased. What the heck?

He returned his gaze back onto the others and bowed for us. "It's nice to meet you, Sanjou-san, Yuiki-san, Hinamori-san, Hotori-san, and… Mashiro-san," he said, with especial difficulty on my name.

"Just call Yaya Yaya!" Yaya protested. It's usually the first thing she says to people.

"Kairi is fine as well."

"I would appreciate it if you'd just call me Tadase."

"Amu. Just Amu."

He listened carefully as they corrected their names, but eventually it stopped and it was quiet again. The other students had started milling around and they grouped together, leaving us alone (for once).

I cleared my throat, and he turned his attention back to me. "Mashiro," I said shortly. I was still suspicious about him.

His eyes never left mine, not even for a second as I said that. He chuckled at the words though. "You can call me Nagihiko then. Except maybe Mashiro."

I glared at him. His eyes bored into mine, but for just a second, I thought I saw something slip. His mask fell apart, showing an unbearable amount of pain. It was almost as if something had collapsed inside, but he quickly regained composure.

"Alright, alright! Everybody sit down!" Nikaidou-sensei called. I turned on my heel and marched back to my seat. I didn't care about him. I wasn't interested in why he was so mysterious. I wasn't interested in why he looks so much like that other boy. _I wasn't interested._

Nikaidou-sensei looked us over as we all sat down. "Okay, now that we're settled, why don't we try a little activity to get to know each other? You'll be paired up by _me_ by the way. The point is to make_ new_ friends," he said, stressing the word 'new'. Pft, and _when_ do these activities ever work?

"Let's see…"

He pushed people off to the side as he called their names. I didn't really listen; my partner would just have to deal with having an anti-social girl as their buddy.

"Mashiro?" I froze. I recognized that voice.

"Fujisaki," I acknowledged curtly.

He pulled the desk next to mine closer and sat beside me. We didn't talk, and the silence was awkward. It was starting to piss me off.

"Well?"

He swung his head towards me. "Oh. Right, the activity." He ripped out a sheet of paper. "Do you know what to do?"

"No."

"You weren't listening?"

"You _were?_"

"I don't want to fail middle school."

"Well, I don't _care_ about your wants."

He seemed concerned. "You seem unhappy."

"Ever since I met you," I said in a sickly sweet voice.

"But you just met me a couple of minutes ago."

"And your point is…?"

He gave up. Wise choice. "Anyways, we just have to ask questions to figure out more about each other to see what we have in common."

"Hm."

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a 'hm', Fujisaki. Not a yes," I said irritably. To be truthful, I probably shouldn't _immediately_ act like this in front of him. I mean, what did he ever do? The thing was… he was… frustrating. I couldn't figure it out. And, as a result, I hate him. Simple. I hate all things that I can't figure out.

"What's your favorite fruit?" he asked first. Such a typical question. I change my mind; he's just as stupid as the other guys at this school.

"Oranges. What's your favorite color?" I never said that _I _was creative.

"Purple."

"It's because you're a narcissist, isn't it?" I asked indifferently, pointing out his violet hair. I wouldn't be surprised. He might not be gay, but with that much hair, he had to have _some_ kind of problem.

"Sure, Mashiro. Sure. Whatever makes you feel better," he mumbled to me.

I watched him as he wrote down the answers to the questions on the sheet of paper. He really does look like him. In fact, so much like him, I was starting to doubt that it _wasn't_ him. Admittedly, his attitude was (definitely) different. But then again, I only met that little boy for a few minutes. He interrupted my intense thinking with his annoying voice.

"Favorite animal?" This guy is so unoriginal.

"Tiger."

"… Why?"

"Because it can claw things apart. Especially things it _doesn't like._"

He shuddered. Hopefully he can tell he's one of those things I _don't like._

"My turn?" His violet hair flew as he nodded.

"First off, no more favorites! It's getting ridiculous," I said bluntly. "Otherwise, I don't have a question for you."

"Oh."

I regarded him closely as he started to toy with his pencil. We were quiet again. It often tended to be that way between us. "Have we… met somewhere before?" The words just slipped out of my mouth without permission. Shoot. I tried my best to look indifferent as Fujisaki reluctantly looked back at me.

"I thought you said you were out of questions?" He was trying to change the subject.

"Are you _avoiding_ the question, Fujisaki?"

"Why are you asking, Mashiro?" he retorted back. He waited impatiently for the answer.

I picked my words carefully; no sense in telling him more about me then necessary. "Because… you look familiar." Familiar is nowhere _close_ to how much he reminds me of him, but I didn't elaborate. No point.

He looked me squarely in the eyes and gave me that stubborn smile, that grin that seemed to penetrate and see right through me (which infuriated me to no end). His amber eyes regained their dead look as he stared deeply into my own golden eyes.

"No, Mashiro, I don't think so. It's probably just a coincidence."

_02. Stealing for Keeps: _A Coincidence

* * *

_I hate this chapter with a burning passion of hate. It just doesn't... FLOW RIGHT. And I tried to be funny and... FAILED. I'm so unfunny it's not even funny. I didn't know how to fix it though. D: I don't know. Maybe I'm insane..._

_... I'm sorry. I think I just screwed up their meeting. Lol. Shoot. But I updated right? Doesn't that count of something? No? Great. Just great. _

_Besides that, I bet this is just littered with crappy mistakes. Don't murder me. I'm sorry! Does my apology count for anything? NO? Even better. _

_Anonymous Reviewers: _

_Anonymous: Aw, thanks! :)_

_RimaNagi4ever: I did update! Who else is shocked? _

_the evil it: Don't eat me. I prefer being undigested. Lol, but I'll continue this, so no worries, 'kay? :D_

_I suck. So muuuuch. This chapter sucks. So muuuuuch. D: I wanted to stab myself with a fork so many times... And then my family decided to screw up my writing times and... and... Yeah. Those are my horrible excuses that are crappy and everything. But at least they MET. Ha. So..._

_Mhmm. I have no idea what else to say. Thanks for reading though! You're so awesome. ;_;_

_Review if you can. If you can't, then... Meh. Just... I don't know. (I fail at ending conversations with you guys. -sob-)  
_

_-Bluey-san  
_


	4. 03 A Butterfly

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~I don't own Shugo Chara!~_

_

* * *

03. Stealing for Keeps: _A Butterfly_  
_

A coincidence… Well, that's what I thought originally anyways. I tried to settle the feeling of unease in my stomach by glaring down at my desk.

It didn't work very well though, since _he_ decided to interrupt.

"Well, we should finish this activity, shouldn't we?" he asked as he examined the paper carefully, as if it held some hidden meaning.

"No," I deadpanned. Who wanted to suffer through this anyways? Even so, I lifted my gaze from the desk back to him and leaned my head onto my arm.

"Hm… Do you have any brothers or sisters?" he inquired, smoothing out the paper. I shook my head, my curls flying.

"No, only child. Gets lonely sometimes…" I trailed off, looking in another direction. "What about you?"

He froze, his back stiff as he pressed the pencil hard against the sheet, the led dark as he wrote. "No," he said with finality.

"Really?" His actions were suspicious.

He forced a smile automatically. "Of course; why would I lie about something as trivial as that?"

That's what _I'd _like to know. I decided to just let it go; it's not like I cared anyways. After all, I had just met this guy.

"Whatever."

"It's your turn," he replied easily, but I could tell he was eager to get off the subject. I regarded him with vague suspicion.

Seeing as how it was my turn, I asked without warning, "What's your family like?"

I tilted my head towards him, registering his reaction carefully in my mind. This time, he had his guard up. My assumption is that he has it up against questions like this. Apparently, he didn't like it when people asked personal things.

Even though I said his guard was up, his fingers were trembling slightly as he messed around with his pencil. His eyes were cold like ice, and although the amber tone of his eyes should've been warm, they were anything but that.

"My family… is very traditional. It is _critical_ that we follow these sacred_ traditions_," he said, spitting out the last word, although it was obvious he hadn't meant to. In truth, his face itself was… calm. It was almost expressionless.

The only thing that gave me the slightest hint was the crease of his eyebrows and the irritation in his voice. He didn't seem irritated with _me_ though. His eyes seemed to be looking at a place far away from Seiyo though, when he gazed out the window.

"Fujisaki," I said, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry," he said, ripping his eyes off of the window onto me. Suddenly, I wished they were back, glued onto the window instead. His eyes were examining me as if I was a specimen, not a human. It unnerved me. Eventually, somewhat to my relief, he snapped out of it.

"… What's your family like?" I almost flinched. He noticed the look and gave me a tiny grin.

"It's okay. You don't need to tell me," he said kindly. "It's probably private, right?"

I shook my head. It's not that my family was _horrible_, or anything. Then again, I made him tell me about his family. For now, I would just go with a half-truth.

"My family's pretty normal. Nothing particularly _unusual_ though," I said, looking straight ahead. It's not like it wasn't true. We are normal.

That is, we're normal _now_.

I could tell he wasn't convinced. He opened his mouth to ask, but before he could, Nikaidou-sensei yelled over the increasing volume of our voices. "Okay, okay! This activity is _over,_" he stated firmly. Translation: _Shut up._

"Back to your seats!" Everybody pretty much ran to their seats, relieved to get away from their partner. Most likely, Nikaidou-sensei had unconsciously paired us with people we didn't generally like, which seemed to be something _all _teachers were very talented at.

"Bye, Mashiro," Fujsaki said with a wave of his hand. I waved faintly back, still pondering him. In truth, he was different then most people. The way he acted was suspicious too.

Even worse, I think he's giving me a migraine.

I rubbed my temples irritably. I saw a flash of pink and looked to my side and saw Amu settling back down. I raised an eyebrow at her expression, which was both pissed and horrified. "Fanboy?" I guessed easily. She nodded grudgingly.

"You're so lucky," she complained. "You had somebody who wasn't a fanboy for once. I mean, he practically drooled on me."

If I had been paired with somebody normal, I probably would've agreed with that statement.

But if there was one thing that I learned while talking to him, it was that Fujisaki Nagihiko seemed to be anything _but_ normal.

_-Time skip-_

Amu looked like she was fighting to stay awake. Yaya snored away on top of her desk. Kairi, attentive as always, even down to the last few minutes until the final bell rung, was scribbling away like crazy. Even Tadase had put down his pencil and looked like he was staring at the clock as if it would miraculously speed up.

I was pleading for the bell to ring internally. Throughout the class, just a single flash of violet was all it would take to distract me. Screw him and his stupid, girly, distracting hair. I needed to go to a place where the seventh color is completely deleted from the spectrum.

"Amu," I hissed as her eyelids fluttered. They immediately snapped back open and she gave me a nod of thanks. I waved her off. There was no point in sleeping when the bell was about to ring.

"Okay class, I believe that we have bonded _immensely_ during this class period, am I incorrect?" my math teacher, Kitazawa-sensei said while beaming. Sure, sure, lots of bonding, algebra, and other crap I didn't understand.

Everybody almost sighed in utter relief as the familiar sound of a shrill bell resounded through the school. Kitazawa-sensei looked disappointed; it was almost as if she was _sad _she didn't get the chance to share more of her life stories with us, which she had so kindly supplied throughout the class, although the rest of us certainly weren't.

"Finally," Amu mumbled as she stretched her arms high over her head. "Huh, I miss break already."

Tadase nodded in dull agreement. Kairi was too hyped up on the 'excitement' of education. We all trailed off at the sight of the puddle of drool found on Yaya's desk. It really wasn't all that surprising.

"Yaya, wake up! We're not on break anymore," Amu said, shaking Yaya. Yaya glared blearily through half-closed eyelids.

"It was break in Yaya's dream. Yaya was in candy land and Yaya was eating a gigantic strawberry lollipop… It looked a lot like Amu-chii…" Yaya started patting Amu's head, leaning against her. "Strawberry lollipop… You got fatter."

What with Amu's look of outrage and her sudden increased speed of throttling Yaya, I laughed slightly. I saw somebody tilt their head out of the corner of my head and turned. My eyes connected with amber. Fujisaki.

His mouth corners tugged upwards, and he winked. The movement was wistful though. He mouthed something very quickly, and then promptly left the room, obviously not noticing the many stalkers he had attracted.

I was momentarily deciphering what he had said, since what I _thought_ he said had to be impossible. Besides that point, I really sucked at reading peoples' lips. Perhaps it was a skill I needed to work on.

Because, what Fujisaki mouthed was, "_You look better when you smile._"

I shook my head, dislodging my thoughts. I didn't need this. "Any progress on Yaya?" I asked, reverting back to the original situation. Both Kairi and Tadase were just watching as Amu kept trying.

"To awake the Ace is, in theory, quite the complicated process," Kairi said, cracking his knuckles. "I've done it before, but as of recently, it is only a theory." I don't think I want Kairi to wake me up.

Amu stopped as Yaya shot up from her seat and sprinted off to the other side of the room. She screeched, "Yaya's not sleeping!"

I saw a small, evil smirk cross Kairi's face, if only for a second. As if we needed another Ikuto in this world.

"Nice job, Sanjou-san," Tadase said, thoroughly amused. Kairi nodded in acknowledgement.

"Did Nagihiko-san already leave?" Kairi asked, checking his watch.

"Mhmm," I answered. "Because, unlike us, who are apparently stupid and didn't leave when the bell rang, he left with the other semi-normal kids so that he wouldn't have to stay in school any longer than necessary."

Kairi frowned, disappointed, not even noticing my insult. "That is a shame. I would've been interested into finding out more about him. He seems to be an interesting character."

Yaya was walking back reluctantly. "Are you talking about Nagi-nii?" she asked as she finally stopped in front of us. She met him just a little while ago, and already she was calling him 'Nagi-nii'. Yaya rarely has formalities.

"Yes, I wanted to inquire about his family," Kairi elaborated.

A thoughtful look crossed Tadase's face. "Now that I think about it… Fujisaki… Didn't that family experience a very sudden increase in wealth? It was in the news, I'm sure…"

This was Kairi's department; I'm pretty sure Yaya, Amu, and me were all just kind of lost. Kairi's glasses gleamed. "Yes. It's almost a mystery in itself. The Fujisaki family became almost famous overnight, not to mention very wealthy. It was almost incredible."

"How?" Amu asked curiously. Kairi sighed and shook his head, frustrated.

"They don't know. It just… happened. The Fujisaki family supplied nothing but very vague answers. Quite strange. Of course, there are the standard rumors, but none have been claimed to be true. Their whole family has a very rich past, if not a peculiar one."

It's nice to know that the strangeness in his family is generic. I stood up suddenly, a sense of curiosity engulfing me. I stood up straight and turned on my heel. "I'll see you guys later."

"Eh, Rima where are you going?"

"Rima-tan's leaving Yaya!" the girl wailed. I paused for a minute and stood by the doorway, turning to allow them to see the tiny smile on my face. Then I left, checking the time. It'll be fine. School was over, so it was mostly free time. It was highly unlikely that anybody would be there today; after all, it was the first day back.

My shoes tapped against the marble floor as I started in the direction of my destination. The halls were empty and quiet. Everybody was probably outside today, since it was _so _pretty. Right.

I burst through the cherry wood doors. I was right. As massive as the library at Seiyo was, it was practically empty. Even the nerds hadn't invaded the place yet. That was a good sign.

I walked briskly past the open-mouthed librarian, who _had_ been eating a low-fat yogurt (and she most definitely needed it), and I feared that it was going to fall out of her mouth. What, was it _that _unusual for Mashiro Rima to enter the library? You'd think I was banned or something.

I marched directly towards the back, where the research computers were located. I turned one on and sat down in one of the chairs, tapping my foot impatiently as the computer slowly loaded. As new as these computers were, after not being turned on for a few weeks, they were sluggish.

I looked at an index card on the side which had the password and username for the computers. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the 'R+N' carved into the wooden desk of where I was sitting. I never did see the point in commitments like those.

I double-clicked on the internet, watching it load. It finally came up after three painstaking minutes. Entering into Google, I paused, my eyebrows drawn together. What exactly what I was looking for?

I decided that maybe a broad search would be best, just to narrow down exactly what I wanted. With quick agility, I typed 'Fujisaki' in.

Blue hyperlinks covered the white page and I clicked on a few. I almost growled in frustration as a familiar gray screen popped up. Stupid school blocker.

I felt another headache coming. I kept pressing on though. Something told me that Fujisaki was lying, and personally, I hate it when people know more than me. Even more, I hate it when people succeed in lying to me. Maybe it's a pride thing; I'm not very sure.

I balled my hand into a fist as I kept pushing forward. All of a sudden, details were very hazy on that night. Maybe I'm just latching on too tightly onto a memory that should be forgotten. Why do I want so badly for Fujisaki to be the same person?

Maybe so I can strangle that person for doing what he did that night. Everything was starting to shift all of a sudden. That memory that I was once so sure of, seemed to be swerving out of control. The feelings that I had for that boy had once been very much in my control, or, at the very least, I had once been able to suppress them, but now, all of a sudden, everything came rushing back: uncertainty, fear, and guilt.

Fujisaki really just complicated everything by just showing his face.

I redirected my thoughts back to the search. It was crucial to find out a little bit of information. If I did, maybe everything would be clear again. _Maybe._

As time went on, I felt myself getting more and more annoyed and confused. And usually, a mix of those two emotions led to me being pissed. I wouldn't be lying if I said that I was tempted to stab something more than once.

The thing was, the school blockers wasn't the problem anymore. It was almost as if everything was wiped out about the Fujisaki's. They _existed,_ but information was rare, apparently. It was as if somebody had deliberately deleted all forms of private data on them. All I saw was the mention of them and their extraordinary luck; otherwise, the website had little else.

Wikipedia: nothing. Britannica: Nothing. : Nothing. This was growing pointless.

On a particular article, a video was included from the news awhile back. I clicked on it and watched as the same wiry frame came into view: Tokyo's favorite reporter, Kitazawa Daichi.

"Fujisaki-san, please, a word!" he exclaimed, panting. A form that was ahead of him, shifted and turned to face him (hesitantly, I might add). She was very beautiful. Her long, dark hair was slightly curled and most of it was in a bun. Amber eyes framed by elegant eyelashes blinked at the camera.

"How do you feel about this sudden stroke of luck?" he asked, excitedly. It was probably because Fujisaki-san rarely stopped to talk to reporters, and he may be the only one to get the actual, from the source, inside story.

Her eyes landed on the man for a second, and Rima thought she saw a sad form of amusement cross her eyes. The graceful woman looked exactly like her son right then. She seemed to contemplate the question until I saw the shadow of a dark thought dance across her face. With a frigid and lovely smile, she said straight at the camera:

"It wasn't luck."

The words echoed in my mind; I didn't even notice that the video was still playing. For some reason, the words were… peculiar. The way she put them, it was almost as if she meant something beyond the simple and literal meaning.

I kept that tab up and kept looking. So far, that was the best piece of information I had gotten on them. It was really depressing, to be truthful.

It was the same everywhere. Nothing. It didn't even say where they lived, it didn't mention their family, and everything mentioned _nothing._ The internet wasn't helping me out very much.

I had a spark of an idea (after all, I was in the library, so it was a wonder I hadn't thought of it before), but it made me groan. Using the computer was one thing, but…

Admittedly, you _could_ delete things that others had written on the internet if you were good at hacking and whatnot. It might explain why there was absolutely nothing on them. Books, on the other hand, should be harder.

"Shoot," I said under my breath, getting up from my computer and dragging myself off towards the bookshelves. I saw the librarian gawking at me with a cupcake in hand. Listen lady, just because you ate low-fat yogurt _doesn't _mean you can eat a cupcake. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to eat fruit to maintain the yogurt's low-fatness.

I, instead, decided to ignore her (it was rather hard; her stare reminded me of a fanboy's) and continued searching for the catalog box, which basically had every single book in the library filed. After finally finding the thing (our library is much too massive for the vertically challenged), I sifted through it, trying to find 'Fujisaki'.

I was starting to have doubts. The Fujisaki streak was probably recent, and no offense to Seiyo, our library was _old._ We didn't get new books very often ever since somebody invented the brilliant thing known as the internet, which also produced 'Google' and other search engines to replace books.

"Ah," I said in minor shock. I took out the thick paper and squinted. It was dusty and I gently blew it off. I choked as it floated in the air.

I memorized the number and inserted the card back in, going directly towards the shelves again. I stroked the spines as I went, looking closely at a few and skipping a couple. I finally found it, and I nearly broke it when I took it out. I heard a ripping noise and I frantically picked up the piece of the cover and tucked it in a random page.

"This is too old, isn't it?" I was starting to talk to myself. I'm beginning to question my own sanity.

I took it gently to a nearby table and opened a page. I winced as a cloud of dust floated out. Seems somebody hasn't used this recently. How the heck did the library acquire something this old?

"Be careful with that," I heard the librarian call. She was scowling at me now. "That's a very precious book with very few copies left it the world."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," I said. Go back to being all interested in your valuable cupcake and ignore the teeny-tiny girl being all suspicious with a very old book that most average teenagers would never be caught dead with.

Luckily for me, she _did_ in fact go back to her cupcake. Go figure.

As it turned out, the Fujisaki family had a very long history. But I wasn't quite sure if _my_ Fujisaki (and no, he's not 'mine') was the same as _these _Fujisakis.

I checked my watch, and then did a double-take. Two hours had already passed since I entered? Crap. No doubt Yaya's dragging Utau and Amu across campus looking for me.

I bit my lip, torn. I could manage a bit longer reading. I skimmed the pages, but something in particular made me concentrate a bit harder. _Traditions._

Just as I was about to look further into it, I heard my phone vibrate. I cursed as I flipped it open.

**To: **Rima

**From: **Yaya

**Subject: **WHERE ARE YOU?

**Message: **Rima-tan, why'd you leave Yaya all alone? :'( -XOXO, Yaya

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'd better go find her before she started bawling. I texted a quick reply back that I was coming and snapped my phone shut again.

I looked at the book and then brought it over to the librarian, who was now busy eating triple chocolate brownie. "Can I check this out?" I asked as soon as I got up there.

She shook her head slowly, appraising me. "I'm afraid you can't check out books until some day next week."

Pft, I believed her. But I could tell she was silently relieved that I couldn't take away the precious book. I pursed my lips; it looks like I'd have to wait awhile still.

I nodded curtly, and stopped in front of the library doorway. I could see the librarian craning her neck to look around me to see why I stopped.

"Well?" she barked. "Leave."

I let a smirk cross my face. I opened the door halfway, until I said in my angelic voice, "You know, you should really eat more fruit. Might help out your diet more then that cupcake and that brownie y'know. Just a tip."

It was almost a shame I couldn't see her face as I left.

I strolled down the hallway and out the doors into the fresh air. I heard a few birds and loud, pounding footsteps.

She's found me already? I guess I'm not supposed to be very stunned.

Without even turning, I stepped out of the way and watched in disinterest as a familiar pig-tailed figure sprinted past me. Yaya really needed to change her approach tactics; they were growing predictable.

"Rima!" I turned and saw Utau and Amu.

"Where were you?" Utau demanded. I gave her a nonchalant shrug.

"Well, whatever. At least we found you," Amu said before Utau could try to get the answer out of me. "The guys were looking too… I'll call them."

"Did Yaya go past?" Utau asked. I flipped my hair over a shoulder.

"Yes. She didn't look like she was planning on stopping anytime soon," I replied. "I think she needs something to crash into. Maybe a tree if she's lucky," I mused.

Amu came back. "Just wait for it; Kukai'll come first."

We didn't really need to be told; it was pretty much expected. Kukai was the fastest out of everybody. However, all three of us were somewhat stunned (although me and Utau hid it better) as we saw two figures appeared. And the second one was actually keeping up with him. At first I thought it was just Yaya who had somehow rerouted her course.

They screeched to a halt in front of us. "Hey, new kid, you're good!" Kukai said with loud laughter, slapping him on the back. Looking closer, I saw a flash of violet.

I raised an eyebrow. "Fujisaki?" A brief memory of what he had mouthed to me flashed in my mind, and I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Oh," he said, raising a hand in greeting. "Hello, Mashiro, Amu-chan, Utau-chan."

"For a kid who said he can't play a sport, you're pretty quick on your feet," Utau observed. "Besides that point, you look pretty in shape to me. Are you positive you don't do any athletics?"

Nagihiko shifted from foot to foot. "Well, where I lived, there wasn't a lot of time or room to do things like that. It kind of stunk, but here, maybe I can try a few things."

"Of course, and I, the great Kukai, shall teach you!" Kukai cried out, punching his chest.

Amu pointed at two lone figures coming closer. "Looks like Tadase and Kairi have finally caught up."

"Nagihiko-san, if Souma-san just offered to mentor you, decline immediately. He is a slave driver," Kairi said shortly. Tadase nodded his head behind Kukai's back. I snickered at his offended look.

"Am not!"

"… Hey. Where's Yaya-chan?" Nagihiko pondered.

"Let me guess. She didn't stop running and now can't stop," Kukai said, taking a shot. I snapped my fingers.

"Bingo."

"She'll come around. She's probably nearly circled the campus by now…"

"T-minus ten seconds," Kairi suddenly announced. "Ten… Nine… Eight…"

Kukai and Tadase, in the meantime, got in position. I had the fabulous job of dragging Fujisaki out of harm's way. I tugged on his arm, none too gently, and he landed with a thud on the ground.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

I heard the same footsteps from earlier, slapping against the pavement. "Three… Two… One…"

Yaya crash-landed into the two. She breathed heavily, before giving us a thumbs-up. "Zero," Kairi ended simply. Nagihiko watched the whole thing with quietly amused eyes.

"Is this a daily occurrence?"

"With Yaya as a friend, it becomes one," I said. Yaya gave an impish grin at first and then pouted at me.

"Mou, it's all Rima-tan's fault! She moved!"

"If I _didn't_, the effect of your impact would've been a broken leg. I think it's a _good _thing that I moved," I said dryly.

"What? Psh, no," Kukai said, chuckling. "Yaya's not _that _fat. If she was any plumper though, she could break a couple of bones…"

Kukai's an idiot. I saw Yaya's eyes flash.

"Did you call Yaya… fat?" she asked threateningly.

"What? No! Of course not… Uhh, Yaya you're the loveliest thing in the world and everything should bow down to you?" Kukai asked as she advanced.

"It's like this morning all over again, except it's Yaya instead of Utau," Amu said, giggling. Utau ignored the comment, watching the event with interest.

Kairi shook his head. "Honestly, Souma-san. Have you learned nothing from our endeavor this morning? Girls are extremely temperamental. You must be careful," he chided.

Utau's mauve eyes snapped up at the comment. "Excuse me? Temperamental _because _we're girls?" she spat. Have I mentioned that Utau hates sexism? Because she does… Very much. Kairi rejoined Kukai in a partnership of being eternally screwed.

It was an Utau and Yaya double team, and a Kairi and Kukai double team. And, to be honest, it was obvious which team was winning since one was whining and trembling as they backed away.

Tadase, who might be the only intelligent boy who has managed to avoid Utau's and Yaya's wrath, chuckled at his friends' situation. Amu just crossed her arms and watch, laughter plain on her face. I watch indifferently, although I was secretly entertained.

Then I heard it. Laughter bubbled and flowed smoothly, quick, small, and without warning. I saw it; Fujisaki was laughing. It was honest this time though. There was no sense of him forcing it; it was natural and soothing. But, just as abruptly as it had appeared, it just as soon vanished.

Utau and Yaya stopped and both exchanged a secret smile. Kukai beamed while Kairi just stared down at the ground, a look of triumph on his face. Maybe I wasn't the only one who had noticed just how tense this guy was.

Amu and Tadase winked at each other. I couldn't help but feel suspicious. I had a hunch something was coming…

"Agh, I forgot!" Amu suddenly exclaimed. "The teacher needs me and Yaya for something!" She promptly lugged Yaya along with her, the young girl confused and lost.

Tadase grabbed Kairi. "Why don't we go look at the library! We haven't been in awhile, after all, isn't that right, Sanjou-san?" Kairi's eyebrows scrunched as Tadase started walking in the direction of the library.

Utau, who was at the very least smarter than Kukai (who can be quite dimwitted), said one word that spoke thousands. "Ramen." And as a result, off they went. Which means all six of them had ditched us in a matter of minutes. My friends are great.

"Do you know why they're doing this?" he asked, toying with a blade of grass, his laughing fit gone. I blew on my bangs and made them flutter.

"Probably because I'm the only one who isn't very 'buddy-buddy' with you yet," I said sourly.

Fujisaki allowed a smile to grace his lips. "You don't want to be friends?"

"I don't like to become friends with people I don't really know," I answered curtly.

"Hmm… What do you want to know?"

Everything was what I wanted to say. I wanted to know the _truth._

Then again, I sincerely doubted he'd offer me _that_ on a silver platter.

Family was out of the question. It was obviously a very touchy subject for him. Traditions… I wasn't sure, what with the way he spat out that word. I decided I should start on maybe more stable ground.

"What are your goals?" I wasn't actually that interested, but I thought that I should 'ease' him, to an extent, into harder questions. He considered the question, looking like his mother as he thought it over.

"Ne… Mashiro, have you ever wanted to fly?"

"What? Isn't that what we have airplanes for?" I asked scornfully. What kind of goal is that?

"That's not what I meant." He pointed at a flower nearby. On there was a beautiful butterfly, colorful and graceful as it landed.

"Aren't they incredible? They're so delicate and fragile. So easy to break, and obviously, they're not that easy to create. They work hard to survive, from infancy, to adolescence, and then finally, adulthood." For some reason, I'm unsure on if he's only referring to a butterfly.

A far off look reappeared in his face. I remained silent.

"Maybe that's why… they're so lucky. You know, they can fly and soar through the skies, and sometimes I think, they can do it with absolutely no worries." A bitter smile planted itself upon his face. "Fly away and be free from _everything._"

He watched calmly as the butterfly took flight back into the sky, growing smaller and smaller as it flew ever higher. It was just a flash of color against a pure blue sky. The trees rustled as a gust of wind blew gently.

"Ne, Mashiro, wouldn't it be nice… Wouldn't it be nice, if we could fly away like butterflies, and be… free?"

_03. Stealing for Keeps: _A Butterfly

* * *

_I thought for sure I wouldn't finish this chapter by today... But then I went on this typing rant thing, and... This was my result. And besides, the fact that I ran out of Artemis Fowl books to read certainly chipped in to my typing... -grumbles- I need to go to the library, gosh darnit. _

_... Anyways, continuing on, this chapter... I dunno. I'm satisfied with it. I liked the ending~ Even if it was kinda... stupid sounding. ^^' Whatever. Pft, otherwise, I just kinda went with it. There are a couple of subtle things in there that will become clearer in the future, so if something's vague, that might be it. ;)_

_Anonymous/Non-PM-able Reviewers:_

_angelcake529: :) Rima's totally in denial. Most definitely. Ahaha, thanks!  
_

_Yannami: Really? Yay! X3 I'm planning on updating Sparks will Fly... GAH. I don't know. -shamefaced- However, it's nice to know you like them as equals. ... Actually, it's nice to know you like both of them, to some form or extent. X) Lol, yeah, finally. It took awhile. _

_RimaNagi4Ever: Aw, thanks! :)_

_LizzieGlee12: Aghh, laziness is something that constantly fatigues me. You're not alone. It was actually sad? I'm shocked... Oh yes, Rima will make Nagi instantly cheerful using horrible methods of torture! :D Naaah, I'm just kidding... Er. I think. (Thanks for the review!)_

_animefreak: ... No stabbing please. Or maiming. Or killing. I kinda value my life. But, I'm glad you thought the chapter was nice. :3_

_the evil it: Ahaha, I'll try to update weekly, but... Eh. Oh, adding on to the list above, no eating others either. Mostly since that's cannibalism, and... Isn't that illegal? ... I really hope that's illegal. Awww, but I am glad I got you to laugh! XD Hooray~_

_Aghhh, I'm kinda relieved I got this up. Hooray for... that.  
_

_Oh, and by the way, thanks for all the reviews! I was kinda stunned... But seriously, thanks! You guys are so amazing. Seriously. NO JOKE.  
_

_-continues rambling about long crap- That's it. Thanks for reading folks! _

_Review if you want~  
_

_-Bluey-san:)  
_


	5. 04 Trapped

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~Shugo Chara! is owned by Peach-Pit.~_

_

* * *

_

_04. Stealing for Keeps: _Trapped

I stared at him. His eyes were completely trained onto the sky, but then, as if noticing my presence again, he snapped back to the present and smiled.

"… I personally think you got that from a movie," I commented dryly. He chuckled lightly, the soft sound escaping like a trapped bird. It sounded pained and unfamiliar, if not slightly forced.

"Even so, the way you put it…" I squinted my eyes, trying to look for the small flitting figure in the sky. "It seems more like running away, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?" I resisted the urge to look at his expression and continued.

"Being free is different from trying to shrug off the shackles life gives you. It's almost impossible. In exchange for living, you have to endure the hardships it throws right back at you," I said, vaguely aware of his piercing glare.

I saw his lips turn into a cruel smile; his eyes turned dark. "And if you can't, you'll die, huh?"

I turned and stared him right in the eyes. "Yeah, probably," I said, feeling a bit triumphant at the shock that flashed in his eyes. "Surprised about something?" I asked while settling down onto the grass, wrinkling my nose. I'll probably get dirt on it, but I'm too lazy to stand and exert energy.

"Maybe I'm a bit surprised you're not telling me I'm being too pessimistic or I'm looking down on life in saying what I did," he said back, leaning carefully onto the tree trunk.

"Not really," I said, tugging on a stray curl. "After all, from the first time I met you, I thought you were a bit… different, to put it simply."

"So I made a 'different' first impression?" he asked, curiosity sparking his words.

I closed my eyes, a nonchalant look overcoming my face. "Something like that, I guess."

"That's a relief," he said, looking happier then before. "I thought that I had made a bad first impression or something and you hated me."

"Hate… I haven't known you long enough to decide that," I said dismissively, ignoring his sarcastic eye roll. "As for a 'good' first impression… I didn't say that, to make it clear. I'm still thinking over it."

"I see you like over-complicating things," he said wryly. "Then would you kindly tell me if it was or not?"

I felt myself stiffen. I let the massive shadow of my hair cover my face while I thought back to everything I thought about when I first met this Fujisaki. Especially that memory…

A small smile curled onto my lips. Of course, there was no guarantee that he was the same person. Even so, he reminded me of him, a lot. The same sense of sadness surrounded them… But also, it came with a feeling of regret.

I brushed my long curls away from my face and looked at him. "That's no fun."

"Then what do you want me to do?" he snorted, a gust of wind swirling his long, indigo hair around.

"I don't know, Fujisaki," I answered honestly. "So, why don't you try to find out?"

"An interesting prospect," he answered, a playful grin lighting up his face. "Are you suggesting something similar to a game?"

"Games are for kids," I retorted.

"… Well, aren't you short enough to be one…?"

"Isn't your hair long enough to be a girl?" I shot back, giving him a dirty look.

"That's not very nice," he said, pouting, his head resting on his fist lightly.

"You're not denying it," I said, a suspicious tone edging my voice. "So… you really _are_ a transvestite?"

"No, I'm not a transvestite," he said, amusement in his voice. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Yeah, it would've been nice to complete the set of freaks I know," I said, sighing. I shrunk to fit beneath the shadow of the tree, growing even smaller than I already was. It was a benefit, being small sometimes. At least I can pretty much adjust to any hiding place.

"You know, you made a good first impression," he said softly. I twisted to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

He grinned playfully. "Well then, Mashiro, won't that be the mystery to solve?"

"It definitely isn't the only one," I muttered, somewhere between frustrated and curious.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"Nope," I said automatically, allowing a cold look to come over my face. And yet, I got the strangest feeling that he could see right past that façade. It pissed me off, but it intrigued me, to an extent.

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of a few birds chirping, the blow of the wind, and the gentle rustle of the trees. It was pretty peaceful.

"… Running away, huh?" he whispered, interrupting the tranquil scene. I looked at him expectantly, a bit annoyed. Right when I was finally relaxed. He snapped out of his trance and gave me an impish smile. "Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said earlier about freedom and running away."

"What about it?"

"Well… I just wanted to know… Well, could you elaborate?"

I thought about the question. "… You know, Fujisaki, like I said earlier. You're _different._ Everybody here has a grasp on their future; they _know _what they want to do. They're either annoying pigs, horrible snobs, or somewhere close to normal," I said. I watched the corner of his mouth twitch upwards, either in amusement or bemusement, but I'm really not sure.

"But for some reason, you seem stuck. In a rut, I suppose. It's like you want something… But you can't have it. In fact… it's like you're trapped. It's almost as if you want to escape from your prison."

Something flashed in his eyes, but I couldn't quite place it. "Trapped? Not really."

I disregarded his words. "So, what exactly are you doing, Fujisaki? Are you running away? Or are you trying to be free?"

"Because those two are completely different things," he said, catching a sakura petal in his hands.

"I believe that we established that earlier," I said, a smirk crawling onto my face. An awkward silence (at least, in my opinion) engulfed us.

"Then you're different too."

"Don't steal other peoples' descriptions. I'm pretty sure that's impolite." I noticed that he had avoided the question of 'running away' or 'being free'. Even so, I didn't press him because I'm _considerate _that way.

He laughed lightly, the sound traveling on the wind. "In all honesty, I wasn't too sure how to react when I first met you. You were definitely different, that's for sure. The only one I'm not allowed to call by her first name, the only one who doesn't seem to get along with me, the only one—"

"Shut up," I grumbled. "I sound like a brat."

"Well, you're not one," he said. "I liked you because you were different. Something about you stuck around…"

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one," I mumbled. "Something stuck around alright. As for if it's a good thing or not…"

"It's debatable, isn't it?" he finished, arching an eyebrow.

He smoothed a wrinkle out of his uniform. "These uniforms suck," he said, trying to start a conversation.

"You're a guy and you're talking about clothes. That just makes you sound more like a transvestite. Probably more then you'd like it too." He provided the opening for this jibe; all credit goes to him.

"Because I really needed to know that."

"Oh yes. Desperately. I think your already mounting amount of fangirls would be _devastated_ if you were one though," I said coolly.

"… Fangirls?"

Obviously, he's new to the whole 'fan' thing. Well, good luck with that on Valentine's Day.

Suddenly, I heard something shift in the background. I turned sharply towards a mysteriously moving bush. I lifted a single finger to my lips. Carefully, I got up from my sitting position and crept over.

"Gah! Did you hear any of what they just said?" I heard Amu's familiar voice. I wanted to roll my eyes; of course they'd spy on us.

"Nope! They're talking too softly!" Yaya hissed.

"Or maybe, the idiots can't _shut up_," Utau said, whacking Kukai on the head. Kairi and Tadase managed to speed-crawl away from her before she could do the same to them. Kukai continued nursing his throbbing head, looking tempted to kick Utau (although the results would be disastrous).

"Eh? Where'd they go?" Amu whispered in alarm. Fujisaki was stifling a grin behind his hand, and wasn't succeeding. I tapped my feet, and they all slowly turned around. They were all on their knees behind the bush and the boys all trembled.

"Yo, Mashiro…"

"R-Rima!" Amu said nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I was talking," I said in a monotone.

"Um, small world, so were we!" Tadase exclaimed. "Everybody finished their errands, so we decided to hid-talk, _talk_ behind this… bush."

"Right."

"Pretty much."

Yaya looked like she couldn't hold it in anymore. She looked like she was going to pop or explode or _something._

"Kya! Rima-tan, I've never seen you talk so long to a boy before besides Kukai, Kairi, and Tadase!" Yaya squealed, racing towards me at top speed. "So cute!"

Everybody pretty much face-palmed. "Yaya!" they all yelled.

"It's not like it matters," I decided to point out. "You guys suck at lying anyways."

"Cold as always, Mashiro."

"Annoying as always, Kukai," I replied. He ruffled my hair. That's when I caught the plotting eyes of Utau, Amu, and Yaya.

Somebody save me.

"Well, time for dinner," Kukai cheered. Kairi pushed his glasses up.

"How predictable."

"Didn't you just eat, Souma-kun?" Tadase said, smiling.

Yaya shrugged. "Yaya's not hungry!" she announced. "Yaya has candy though!"

"Yaya, if you eat candy, you'll be unhealthy and get fat!" Kukai scolded.

Naïve, naïve Kukai. Apparently, he hadn't learned his lesson the first time. So, without warning, Yaya tackled Kukai. "Are you calling Yaya… fat?"

"That was a stupid move," Kairi commented airily.

"Yeah, but then again, Kukai's an idiot."

Oh, the sympathy of friends.

Eventually, Amu and Tadase went to his rescue and pulled him away from Yaya, who still looked mad. She chomped on her candy angrily and stalked away.

"You'd better apologize. Unless, of course, you want to be assaulted by Powerpuff Girls stickers," I said, smoothing out my skirt.

"Can't be helped," he said with a crooked grin. "Oh, right, Fujisaki. We need to talk later," Kukai said. The purple-haired boy could only manage an inquiring look before Kukai sprinted off towards the ginger-haired girl.

"We'll meet you in the cafeteria!" Kukai yelled to us.

"Yaya won't!" Yaya screamed from where she was.

I find it disturbing how I fit in with these people. Utau straightened up, a competitive glint in her eyes.

"Eating contest?"

"… Maybe," she admitted. I think I heard Kairi say 'predictable' underneath his breath.

We walked towards the cafeteria, but soon, my steps grew slower. "Was the cafeteria this far away before?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"We've only walked for five minutes," Fujisaki told me, furrowing his eyebrows.

Amu decided to oh-so-kindly inform him of my lack of being athletic. "Rima sucks at sports."

"Which includes walking," Utau added.

"And of course, other sports as well," Kairi finished.

"So far, I think Tadase might be my favorite out of all of you guys," I said as I felt myself twitch.

"I'm sure Tadase's thinking of the same things though," Utau snorted.

"…"

"And because he's _not _denying this claim, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say…"

"Shut it," I huffed while crossing my arms. Where is that stupid cafeteria?

"Calm down, Rima," Amu said, giggling. "It's right there."

I cursed them all a bit under my breath as I started speed-walking to the entrance. I entered and breathed in the slightly stale and cool air of the cafeteria.

The rest entered after me. "Do you see them?"

I pointed at a figure pouncing at the last table. "I think it's obvious on who that is."

We came closer. "—Seriously, Yaya, sometimes I think you only act pissed at me just to get me to buy you candy," Kukai said as he patted the younger girl's head.

She gave him an innocent smile as she sucked on her new lollipop.

"Pushover," I said as I settled into my seat. Kukai didn't even deny it; he really couldn't resist the power of Yaya's puppy-dog eyes.

"It's okay; Amu's the same. She always gives in to Ami," Utau said, half pitying them, half making fun of them.

"This coming from you?" they both said at the same time. "No thanks."

"What do they mean?" Fujisaki whispered in my ear. I really should've pushed him away for close proximity; a couple of students were spying.

"Utau used to do anything for Ikuto, her older brother, even if he didn't give her a cutesy look." I internally shuddered at the mental picture of Ikuto being 'cutesy'. It was a disturbing thought.

"I was but a child then," Utau said scornfully. Yaya tilted her head, confused.

"But… wasn't that just last year, Utau-chan?"

"… I'm getting food. Kairi, Tadase, you're ordering with me. Kukai, you guard the table," she ordered, dragging the other two by the collars of their shirts. "Nagihiko, if Kukai starts being an idiot, you have my permission to slug him."

"Dictator," Kukai called at her, which she ignored. Even so, he really should be expecting a kick when she comes back.

"You all are very… close," Fujisaki said vaguely.

"Childhood friends," Yaya piped up.

"There were a lot of business parties we had to attend to. Either we had to play together, or die of boredom," Amu said, tapping her fingers against the lunch table.

"Ah, weren't those the days," Kukai said while sniffling. "Such nostalgic memories."

"I bet you don't even know what nostalgic means," I said while rolling my eyes.

"Seconded," Yaya cried out. Amu held up three fingers.

"I swear, Fujisaki, all of these girls are evil," Kukai said pointing to each of us. "Including Utau, of course. You really shouldn't make friends with them. Too bad you've already been sucked in by one, huh?"

"Erm, what do you mean?"

"You know… Mashiro," he said behind his hand, trying to look discreet, and failing.

"Very subtle, Kukai," I said as I kicked him under the table. "Very, very subtle."

Kukai groaned as my foot made contact with his shin. He rubbed it gently. "Just because you talk behind your hand doesn't mean she can't hear you," Amu said, snickering.

"Yeah, that kinda backfired," Kukai remarked as he studied the blooming bruise. "Man, that's my seventh bruise."

"Oops, my foot slipped," I said sweetly.

"Ha ha, funny," Kukai said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Fujisaki was trying to conceal his laughter, while Yaya was just busting out with it.

"Kairi, you better not drop anything!" I heard Utau's loud yell and turned. I saw Fujisaki gape at the huge amount of food soon set out on the table.

"Can we really eat all of this?" he asked anxiously.

"Obviously, you haven't met Kukai or Utau," Kairi said. Luckily for him, Utau didn't hear him, as she was kicking Kukai for the 'dictator' comment.

I picked at my food; I wasn't very hungry. "Rima, you're skin and bones!" Utau said, exasperated. "Eat your food and stop picking at it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I oh-so eloquently said back.

Then I heard a ring tone pierce the air. I thought I saw a shadow of a grimace linger over Fujisaki's face as he picked up. "Hello?" he said quietly.

"But… I can't," he protested into the phone, although it seemed as if he knew it was futile. "It's just my first day of school."

He winced when the other end talked back. Nobody else seemed to notice his discomfort but me. "… Yes, of course. Yes."

But somehow, I got the feeling he desperately wanted to say '_no'_ instead.

He hung up and continued eating. All of a sudden, I felt disconnected from everybody else. It was as if I was looking into this place from the outside. Their happiness, their smiles, their laughter… It seemed out of place. I glanced at Fujisaki, who was drinking his water.

His hand was trembling.

* * *

"Ah, that was good!" Kukai said, slapping his stomach loudly and belching.

"I don't know you, I don't know you," Utau repeated over and over. I agreed.

"We stayed here for awhile, huh?" Amu said, frowning as she checked the clock on the wall. "It's already nine ten."

"We arrived at the cafeteria a bit later than usual. It's obvious that we would finish later as well."

"Curfew's nine thirty too…" Yaya pouted. "But Yaya wanted to play with everybody more!"

"We'll play tomorrow, Yaya," Utau promised. "Wait. I'm stuck with you tonight anyways. Somebody else promise her."

"Oi, Fujisaki, you've hardly touched your food," Kukai said, looking at the still full plate.

"Neither did Rima," Amu said, concerned and suspicious. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No. And shut up," I added onto the end. Fujisaki forced a smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just not hungry. And besides, I'm not just 'skin and bones' like Mashiro over here," he said cheerily. I glared at him.

"Anyways, Kairi, I haven't been to our room yet," Nagihiko told him. "Do you mind showing me the way?"

"Don't worry, Fujisaki! We'll show you the way too! We'll be roommate buddies!" Kukai said loudly.

"You're so _loud,_" Utau said as she stalked away. "Goodnight." And then she promptly dragged Yaya away.

"Bye," I said shortly. Amu waved and then we followed Utau back to our dorms with Yaya bouncing the whole way.

(Darn it Kukai; why'd you give Yaya _more _candy?)

I entered our room, sighing as I settled into the bed comfortably. Amu, Utau, and Yaya were whispering in the hallway. Probably about me, or otherwise, I'd be apart of it too.

"Too bad it's almost curfew. We can't talk today," Amu said as she walked into the bathroom to change into her pajamas. Her voice was muffled as it traveled through the wooden door. "I really wanted to hear what happened between you and Nagihiko."

I felt myself involuntarily twitch. Amu came back out and quickly crawled into her bed.

"So, what'd you guys do?" she asked from across the room, obviously excited.

"Amu, that sounds so weird in a lot of ways. Just… just no," I said in disgust. "I thought you weren't perverted."

"You're perverted for thinking that way!" Amu shrieked. "Well? What happened?"

"… I don't know," I finally said.

"Rima."

"I'm being serious," I insisted. "I really… really just don't know. We talked. That's it. We didn't _do _anything otherwise."

"What'd you guys talk about then?"

"Goodnight, Amu," I said, ignoring the question.

"Ri—"

And with that, I clicked off the lights. But, even in the dark, I could tell that Amu was definitely going to tell Yaya and Utau about how _suspicious_ I was being and then all three would somehow twist my unspoken words into huge fantasies.

Somebody kill me now.

* * *

He left a note on his pillow and watched Kairi's slumbering form. Fortunately, Kairi seemed to be a pretty heavy sleeper. As for the note, it was simple enough; the call from earlier was from his family. They asked that he come to the hospital to check on his sick mother.

On the note, he apologized for not telling them and for leaving so suddenly, but he promised to be back soon. Of course, none of this was true.

He stepped into the bathroom and stared out the window. He wanted to be free and fade away into the sky. If only.

Then, a face flashed before his eyes. Butterscotch curls, doe-like eyes, and a small, petite form. Run away, he quickly corrected himself, a grin on his face. For some reason, even though he just met her, that girl never fails to amuse him.

"Too bad I can't, Mashiro," he whispered to no one as he climbed out the window, the momentary happiness of the previous moment already drifting away. He breathed in the fresh air as he felt his adrenaline pumping. He jumped off and felt the air rushing up to meet him.

He can't run away. Because he's trapped.

_With absolutely no way out. _

_04. Stealing for Keeps: _Trapped

* * *

_This chapter... Uh. I don't know how to put this, but it was... 'interesting'. I guess. Not really. It was probably really boring to read, now that I think about it. -_-_

_I think they might be OOC in a couple of places (CRAP), so sorry. ^^' Oh, right, right... YAY, FIFTY REVIEWS! :D_

_Thanks for all the support on this story. I really don't deserve it. :'D_

_Anonymous Reviewers/Non-PM-able Reviewers:_

_Annobulaous: Haha, thanks. :) GAH, rabid Rimahiko fangirls (and fanboys?). XD Thanks; I'm glad you like it so far. _

_FairyTail5023: Thanks. :3_

_animefreak: Ahaha, then I guess I'll have to update more often... Thanks for reviewing! _

_breadsticks: Don't worry, I'm continuing this story. :)_

_Lolpopi: Aw, thanks. I'm happy you think it's awesome. And it's not discontinued..._

_TemariDarkSoul: Thank you! :D_

_the evil it: Ahaha, thank you! I'm glad that you like it that much... As for not updating, I don't think it's been THAT long. Sorry if it has though. Early March is a busy time for me, so I really don't have enough time to settle my ideas and type. I'm always doing something else... So, sorry for that. _

_I think last time, I said I was going to update weekly. Obviously, that didn't happen. Yeah... oops. By the way, I think it's hilarious how pretty much everybody caught the little 'R+N' thing. I really thought nobody would notice that. X)  
_

_Erm, yeah. Thanks for reading people. You guys are LIEK SO KEWL. :)_

_... Review? :D_

_-Bluey-san  
_


	6. 05 Normalcy

_.Stealing for Keeps._

_._

He could steal all he wanted...

_But he could never steal_ what_ he wanted._

_._

_~I wish I did, but then again, since when did _wishes_ come true?~_

* * *

_05. Stealing for Keeps: _Normalcy

He could hear the loud gun shots ricocheting off of the roof. He shook his head, just a bit amused. Lately, they've been taking more drastic measures to capture him, and he knew that he was supposed to be quivering in terror.

(He wasn't, by the way.)

"I really should be more cautious," he mused to himself as he raced across the tiled roof. "I mean, they've been catching me more and more often." He shrugged; he knew that even though he _should_ do that, the adrenaline was rushing to his head. It was an uncontrollable feeling, and he wasn't exactly eager to stop it either, seeing as how once he did, he'd lose all of his nerve.

Suddenly, Nagihiko looked downwards at the massive drop in front of him, and he felt his heart plummet. He dismissed the feeling; they were old reflexes from an old fear. Nagihiko could hear the loud screams, as they yelled, "We've got him! He's stopped! There's no way he'd survive a drop like that!"

At those comments, Nagihiko merely snorted. He jumped gracefully off of the roof, letting the wind sail through and gently cushion his fall. He watched the ground race up to meet him, but he really didn't think about _anything. _All he could see was blackness and a deep dark green that was threatening to engulf him.

_Now._ Nagihiko snapped open the parachute and landed semi-gracefully on his feet, stumbling slightly. He shrugged the pack off of him, and jumped when somebody appeared from the bushes.

"Fujisaki-sama, hurry!" he turned towards the elderly maid. She gave him a small smile as he handed her the pack.

"Thank you, Tomoya-san," he said quietly as he sprinted away. She ignored him as she skillfully and hurriedly wound it up and disappeared into the foliage.

He could hear the people pursuing him with incredible speed. He raced through the pitch black forest, his air puffing out of him forcefully. He could hear the cracks and snaps of twigs and leaves as the careless people behind him tried to catch him.

Nagihiko almost froze when he heard a gun shoot off from behind. Lithely, he dodged it and let it hit an already dying tree. Nagihiko patted the tree as he sprinted past it. "Sorry," he muttered, grinning.

The grin dropped off of his face as quickly as it had appeared. Since when had smiling been so easy? Before, doing these missions made him sick to his stomach, and he had to swallow the guilt down for days, weeks, months…

He could only shake his head. It was just the rush of being away from home; it was just the feeling of being away from those watchful, cruel eyes. That was it, and it was nothing else.

He turned when he heard the snipers shooting carefully, aiming well. He felt one shot graze his ankle, and he nearly collapsed from the sudden pain that shot up his leg. He cursed, but kept running, slowing down just a little bit, but with a slight limp. He heard one of them whisper a hurried, "Yes!" in success.

Nagihiko rolled his eyes as he dashed around a tree. The limbs from the trees scratched and tore at his face, and the many gashes he got from falling a few times when he was climbing that (stupidly) massive wall weren't helping much either. A few more shots from other successful shooters managed to hit his arm, somewhere close to his leg, and his shoulder.

Nagihiko kept running, since his _mother _made him train for 'endurance' as well. Finally, he kept running until he skidded to a sudden stop, and surveyed the area critically. He had memorized the map before, so it _had _to be around here, or else he'd be screwed, and they'd serve his head on a platter to their owner. Literally. He could hear the footsteps coming closer…

Nagihiko spied a rock and ran over, crouching behind it. He felt a bit vulnerable, and he _still_ couldn't find that cave that was 'supposedly' hidden. (He really has no sense of direction.) He crawled a bit more and pried a few rocks loose, and in a burst of pure luck, uncovered the cave.

"Oh yeah, it's hidden alright," he said, his eyebrows furrowing as he went deeper inside, hoping that the rock was big enough to hid the opening of the cave. He heard the steps come and go, snapping twigs and leaves as they went.

One person cursed loudly, angrily, and stomped on the ground in pure rage, knowing that they had lost him. Nagihiko shuddered.

Nagihiko had lost count of just how many people had passed by, but eventually, they tired, and then, he rarely heard anything besides owls, and mice, which were running for cover from said owls.

He sighed in a bout of sudden relief, the adrenaline draining away from him. He felt the pain come back with a dramatic flair, stinging and shocking him. He winced as he tried to move his ankle; it was most likely sprained. Nagihiko gave it a sour look, but before he could do anything for it, he felt his cell phone vibrate.

He snatched it up grumpily and said, "What?"

"Now, now, Nagihiko, I believe it is much more traditional to say, 'Hello', and not 'What', when you answer the phone."

Nagihiko smiled a tiny bit as he applied pressure to a cut on his arm. "Hey, Dad," he said quietly, ducking behind a rock cautiously. He could've sworn he just heard voices…

"Hey, kiddo, how are you? How's school?" his dad asked eagerly, cheerily over the phone.

"It's alright," Nagihiko said as he craned his head over the rock and squinted his eyes in the moonlight. "I've made a few new friends… they're pretty nice."

"… I recognize that tone, Nagihiko. _You have a girlfriend, don't you?_" his father quickly accused. If Nagihiko hadn't been crouching behind a rock during the dead of night in a random city in Hokkaido, Nagihiko would've sputtered.

"Dad… what?" Nagihiko asked, a bit incredulously.

"There are after curfew rules, aren't there? After all, with so many teenagers and their raging hormones, and then, you guys don't have adult supervision… Nagihiko, you _better _not be doing underage activities in your room," his father warned, but Nagihiko could hear the grin all the way from his end of the line.

"Dad," he hissed, embarrassed. Nagihiko stiffened when he heard soft, prowling footsteps nearby, and he shrunk behind the gray rocks of the dark cave.

"I'm _just _saying. Rushing things doesn't help one bit…" Nagihiko nodded absent-mindedly, forgetting that his father couldn't hear something like that. Close by, Nagihiko could hear gunshots and startled birds, one yelping in pain, the others screeching in fear.

"… Nagihiko. Are you playing video games?"

"… Huh?" Nagihiko said unintelligently, most likely from the unexpected question.

"Are you playing video games? I keep hearing gunshots… Are you playing that 'Call of Duty' game?"

"Er, yeah," Nagihiko agreed, making a face as he touched something unexpectedly damp.

"Hmm," his father said, "I never thought of you as the sort of 'gaming nut' kind of person…"

Nagihiko breathed a sigh of relief as those suspicious footsteps strayed away, and he started checking his cuts and bruises again. Hopefully, the gunshots would fade away soon too… "I'm not really a 'gaming nut' sort of person, Dad," Nagihiko stated wryly.

"That's what _all _teenagers say. That, and, "Oh, we're not doing anything bad in my room, we're just 'talking'," his father said in a high, squeaky voice.

"… I sound nothing like that."

"That's what we'd all like to believe, but man, before you hit puberty, that voice was _way _up there. I kept mixing you up with Nadeshiko!" he said, his father's laugh boomed from the other end.

"Wow, Dad. Way to boost your son's self-esteem level to new heights."

Nagihiko nearly staggered when he heard an ear-shattering scream, a scream so frightening and full of rage he almost had a heart attack. He was guessing that that was the owner of that mansion he just raided…

(Although, he was secretly hoping it wasn't…)

"What was _that?_ Did you finally win your game?" his father questioned.

Nagihiko finally relaxed as the footsteps and even the gunshots completely disappeared from his mind. He smiled slightly.

"No, Dad… Sadly, the game is just beginning."

* * *

I yawned as I sat down on the cold ground, half-heartedly doing my stretches. "Why do I have gym in the morning, again?" I asked tiredly.

Amu plopped down beside me, tying her hair up into a ponytail. "So that we can 'wake up' and concentrate in class," Amu said, "But hey, at least we have Utau and Kukai in this class."

"I don't even understand why they did the schedule that way," I replied as I stopped and gave up on stretching. "I mean, having all the grades warm up together? That's so stupid… Besides that, having Kukai in this class with us…"

Amu stopped and thought about it, laughing nervously. "Oh, yeah, you were on Kukai's dodge ball team…"

I nodded sourly while I rubbed at the dark purple bruises that seemed to be everywhere on my body.

"Amu-chii! Rima-tan! Good morning!" I didn't even look up; I didn't have to. The only person with _that _much hyperactivity in the morning is Yaya.

"Yeah, good morning," Utau muttered as she walked up behind her.

"Yeah, it's just _beautiful_," I said sarcastically, "I mean, it's so much fun, waking up at five thirty in the morning, only to either run five laps around the school or play some retarded sport that does _nothing _to benefit our, apparently, very important 'education' we receive. Oh yeah, it's an absolutely _lovely_ morning."

Amu scooted away from me quickly, while Yaya just gawked at me. "Somebody hates gym," Utau remarked. I swung my gaze over to her.

"You would too, if you were just pulled through a traumatizing experience with Kukai and a ton of dodge balls," I retorted.

"How could you say that, Mashiro! I thought it was fun!" I turned around and saw a frowning Kukai and a smiling Tadase.

"That's because you sense of 'fun' is twisted, cruel, and simply, stupid," I said, leaning onto my knees for support. "It's like torture for the athletically impaired."

"… Well, that's a depressing way to look at it," Kukai said, puzzled over how anybody could hate _sports._

"Mashiro-san isn't much of a morning person, is she?" Tadase asked with a small chuckle.

"Rima-tan's usually the one who wakes up at noon," Yaya said as she took out a lollipop.

"Oi, Yaya, we're in gym class! You're not supposed to be eating candy," Kukai scolded, snatching the treat out of her hands.

"Kukai!" she whined as she chased after him. We all watched the even take place, but then again, it happened so often, that it wasn't even amusing anymore…

"Where's Kairi?" Amu asked aloud, and not to anybody in particular.

"Sanjou-kun said that he had a surprise…" Tadase replied as he watched the gym teacher scream at Yaya and Kukai to stop destroying the gym.

"I don't know them, I don't know them," Utau said, shading her face with her hand. "Jeez, did Kukai forget just how much property damage his family had to pay last year? Anyways, I thought Kairi was the kid that hated surprises."

"He is," Tadase said with a shrug. "But—"

"Okay!" the gym teacher, Kashino-sensei yelled loudly. "Now that Yuiki and Souma have stopped harassing each other and the other kids, we can now move on to _gym_."

"We weren't harassing each other."

"Kukai stole my candy!" Yaya said crossly, spouting a completely irrelevant topic out. Kashino-sensei, much to everybody's relief, ignored them.

"So today, we're going to—" he stopped as he watched somebody bang loudly on the door, and he uttered a loud sigh.

"Sanjou, were you trying to ditch class?" he asked sternly as he steered the green-haired boy inside. "And who's this?" The whole class watched intently as Kairi, usually the 'perfect' kid, was getting scolded.

Kairi disregarded the first question and said, "This is one of your students. Fujisaki Nagihiko," he said impatiently. Every single girl, besides Amu, Yaya, Utau, and I, much to the annoyance of most of the boys, gasped when the violet-haired boy stepped forward, offering a small smile.

"Well, well, the missing boy appears," I said softly. I looked at him suspiciously… The stupid florescent lighting wasn't helping my scrutinizing.

"Sorry," Fujisaki said politely, "I'm the reason Kai-Sanjou-san is late."

Kashino-sensei nodded gruffly. "Alright then, go get changed, and be quick. Just when class was going to start…"

At that, both Kairi and Fujisaki walked over into the changing room, and the coach watched them closely. "Okay— Girls, will you _stop_ swooning at Fujisaki and Sanjou? It's so disturbing on so many levels." Kashino-sensei shuddered.

Eventually, everybody lapsed into conversation, while I just stared ahead. For some reason, I got the feeling that the real reason that Fujisaki had been gone— the reason that he had a sick relative wasn't true.

It was the weirdest hunch, and I knew I had no right to accuse him of anything, really. It was just strange, but I could see guilt etched all over his face. It was as if he'd just committed a massive crime…

However, at the same time, there was a sense of happiness on his face. As if his greatest wish had just suddenly come true, as if he was 'free', just like he said he wanted to be.

My head snapped back up when Kairi and Fujisaki walked out. I watched the purple-haired boy disappear around a corner after briefly talking to Kairi.

I got off of the floor and stood up. "Eh, Rima, where are you going?" Amu asked.

"Water fountain," I mumbled in reply as I walked over. I passed by an inquiring Kairi, which I replied with 'water fountain' again.

I marched past Kashino-sensei, who was currently arguing over the walkie-talkie and had completely forgotten about our lessons. (Which was, of course, completely okay with me.)

I turned the corner and saw him crouching over the water fountain, but then he stopped and winced as the cold water made contact with a red slash on his cheek. I froze and took it in; he was covered in bruises and scratches, and he had two dark circles underneath his eyes. He looked up at me in surprise.

"Mashiro… Er, hi?" he said uncertainly.

"What… happened?" I asked, getting straight to the point as I walked towards him. He backed away slightly, but I kept advancing.

"… Nothing, really," he said as he shifted from foot to foot, but winced slightly at his right leg. "I just… tripped… over a… rock."

"… Fujisaki, that may be the stupidest lie that I've ever heard."

"I'm not lying," he said defensively. I sighed.

"You look like you got beaten up, then whacked with a stick, and then you got insomnia," I said bluntly, looking him over critically.

"Gee, thanks for sugar-coating it."

"So you're really not going to tell anybody what happened?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me and smiled; it wasn't bitter, and it wasn't sad. To be simple, it was just understanding, and in the most twisted way possible, it was thankful. "So you really don't believe me?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Tripped on a rock? _Who _would believe that?"

"You'd be surprised," he said ruefully. He sat down against the wall and patted the spot beside him. "Want to sit down?"

"Next to a potential transvestite? Not really," I told him. He rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Mashiro. Please?"

Hesitantly, I sat down beside him, and I looked at him expectantly.

"Why did you want me to sit down?"

He looked at me carefully, his violet hair framing his face, and he shrugged. "Because you're comforting."

My lips curled into a smile. "Well, that's the first time I've ever heard that. How so?"

He leaned against the concrete walls and breathed deeply. "I'm not sure… It's just, your presence… It's refreshing, I suppose. And, your insults help me get my minds off of things."

"That's me, witty little Rima, always happy to be of service," I said sarcastically. He chuckled.

He looked me over for a moment, and then frowned. "Hey, you're not exactly injury free either. What happened?"

"… Oh, are you talking about the bruises? I played dodge ball with Kukai," I said seriously. He laughed.

"And so, since I told you what happened to me, _what exactly,_ happened to you?"

He faced me and offered a weak smile; his eyes were distant for a minute before returning back to earth. "… I can't tell you."

I crossed my arms. "You mean you don't want to tell me, or you're not allowed to."

"Both."

"Is it a secret?" I whispered as I tilted my head.

"… Yeah," he said softly. "And I promised that I'd never tell anybody."

I stood up and brushed myself off while I gazed at him, never breaking eye contact. "That's too bad then, because promises are meant to be broken."

He opened his mouth to reply, but was soon cut off by a loud boom. "Mashiro, Fujisaki, stop flirting by the water fountain and come into the gym!"

I rubbed my temples as I registered the heart-broken screams of at least fifty fangirls. "Today is going to be a long day."

* * *

I tapped my pencil against my desk and stared out the window. I could feel Amu giving me a worried look from where she was, but I ignored it.

It was already my last period, and I was relieved, since I didn't pay attention to any of them. I could feel Fujisaki's burning stare from all the way in the back of the room, but I ignored that too.

Besides that, I feel like I'm forgetting something…

I wracked my brain; my thoughts were way too jumbled up. I was eager to remember, but it was highly difficult.

"Announcements," Koshiro-sensei began as the class neared its end. "Soccer and tennis tryouts will be held in the fields and gym today at four o'clock. The library is opening today right after class ends, and lastly, please refrain from going back to your dorm rooms until five o'clock, due to a few renovations. That is all; you are dismissed."

The only thing that generally registered in my mind was the word 'library'. As everybody practically dashed towards the door, I sat down and gathered my things slowly. What was the rush? As if anybody was actually going to the _library._

"Rima, are you coming?" Amu asked as she paused by the door. I shook my head and offered a tiny smile.

"Sorry, I have something to do after this… I'll see you at dinner," I said. I watched Yaya, as her bottom lip trembled and her eyes welled up with tears. Luckily for me, Amu dragged her away before she could make a scene.

I stood up and brushed myself up, but as I stepped outside into the hallway, I heard a loud and sudden thump.

I squinted at the form sprawled in the hallway, with strikingly familiar purple hair.

"Shoot," he hissed, a word that was neither polite nor kind, which was strange, coming out of his mouth. I walked towards him quietly, dismissing the fact that this was rather fangirl-y stalker-ish.

He grimaced as he tried to get up, and he leaned against the wall, taking deep, soothing breaths. His eyes were closed as I leaned and whispered in his ear softly, "You sound like your going into labor."

His eyes snapped open, and he whirled his head and our faces were inches apart. "M-Mashiro?" he stammered. He struggled to get up, but when he saw my sharp glare, he stopped.

"Is it sprained?" I asked coldly, business-like. He nodded numbly. I watched his face carefully; his eyebrows were furrowed, and I felt like he was _really _close to sighing. "Don't berate yourself on getting caught," I said briskly. "You were definitely going to get caught at some point. I'm surprised you got through PE."

He managed a slightly impish smile. "Painkillers can only get you so far."

I looked at him incredulously. "How many did you take?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that a tinge of worry I hear?" he retorted back with a strained grin. "It doesn't really matter." He pushed himself off of the wall and started limping, leaning against the stark white wall for support.

"Holy— if you do it that way, it'll only get worse," I said, grabbing the back of his blazer impatiently.

"I'm fine," he protested.

"No, you're _not,_" I insisted, "You need to go to the nurse."

His eyelids fluttered for a second, until they opened again and he kept pushing himself. "Fujisaki, I swear, stop walking or else I will kick you and _make _you stop walking," I threatened.

Reluctantly, he did as I said. "You're getting drowsy, aren't you?" I murmured vaguely, watching his eyelids droop. He waved his hand in denial.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"Liar," I grunted as I slipped his arm around my neck. "You're really light," I commented.

"Why am I hearing this from you?" he asked, a slurred chuckle coming out of his mouth.

"Shut up," I said, swatting his arm angrily. "You really act different when you're not on painkillers, you know that? By the way, how many did you take?"

"I act different? Really… How so?" he asked, rudely ignoring the second question.

I thought about it for a second as we shuffled forward unevenly. "More… Normal, I suppose. It's a lot more natural; more like how a teenage boy is _supposed _to act."

He laughed humorlessly. "That's strange. I'm not allowed to be like that," he said, tilting his head. His purple hair tickled her face, and she pushed it away, and it accidentally slammed into the wall.

"Oops. Hopefully those painkillers haven't fully worn off yet," I said, pursing my lips. He shrugged, swaying slightly. "A-anyways, what do you mean, 'not allowed'?"

"I took three before our last period, so it's A-Okay," he said cheerily, his eyes glazing over, once again ignoring my other question.

"You definitely took a major overdose on those pills," I spat, feeling his weight really beginning to register.

He stumbled slightly, and he gritted his teeth, most likely the feeling of pain cutting through the shadow of sleepiness.

"Hey, hey," I said, alarmed as he started to lean against me more for support. "F-Fujisaki, I can't handle this much weight. Unless you've forgotten, I'm only four foot nine," I said nervously as we continued to lean towards the floor.

"Oh, sorry…" he murmured faintly.

"C'mon, we have another hallway," I said, restraining myself from slapping him. He nodded, his head leaning against my shoulder awkwardly and uncomfortably. His eyes stayed closed for increasingly long periods of times.

"I swear, if you fall on top of me, I'm screaming 'rape'," I whispered angrily as he leaned against me. "Your fangirls are going to murder me," I said to myself under my breath.

"Yeah, well, your fanboys are going to kidnap me, throw me in a meat sack, and feed me to the wolves," he said, amusement laced into his voice.

"I'm surprised you have a sense of humor," I said coolly.

"I'm surprised that you've managed to support me for this long," he shot back automatically.

I scowled. "Touché."

As we tottered towards the door, I asked him again, "Why aren't you allowed to be normal?" My eyebrows furrowed, and he squinted his eyes, as if he was disoriented.

"Because if I act normal," he said simply, almost sounding normal again, "I'll get in trouble with _her_." He trembled slightly, and he was slightly paler from usual. I refrained from saying anything else.

We continued to move forward unsteadily, and I piped up suddenly. Maybe it was just the sight of the nurse's door that made me want to say something, but I told him with the traces of a smile on my face, "I like you better like this… retard."

"Always got to sneak in that last insult, huh?" he said, a loose laugh burbling out of his lips. I kicked at the door impolitely, and an astonished nurse opened the door.

He almost dropped into her arms, but before he did so, I felt his warm breath tickle my ear. "But thanks."

* * *

I walked into the library, my thoughts on the book that I had looked at just a week ago. The time had slipped away from me. I pushed the thoughts of the rather 'recent events' into the back, back, _back _part of my mind.

The place had been invaded, crowded with a few dorks and read-a-holics, and they all watched in utter and complete shock. I walked towards the older section of the library, where the books were dusty and a bit crusty. I touched my fingers gently against the worn spines and read the titles to myself silently.

I double-tracked, triple-tracked, and checked over and over. The book had simply vanished into thin air. I bit my lip and walked towards the librarian; she was somebody different from last week.

"Hello, sweet-heart," she said kindly. "Are you looking for something?"

I told her the title of the book, and she clicked and clacked away at her keyboard, and she looked at me curiously. "Are you sure that's the correct title?"

"Um, yes," I said, looking at her with a frown on my face. "Is something the matter?"

She laced her fingers together as she regarded me closely, a look of concern in her eyes. "I'm afraid that that book is nowhere on our database; it has never been recorded, nor has it even been in this library."

* * *

Nagihiko opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling, replaying the rather hazy memory of the trip to the nurse's office in his head. The nurse continued to bustle about, while Nagihiko rubbed his temples. He looked down at his black bag for a moment, staring at the lump inside.

He watched the lady disappear behind another curtain, and he leaned as far as he could and took out the well-worn book. He brushed away the dust and smirked, looking at the faded gold letters that was the cover of the book.

He _really_ hated this book, and he was only reminded of these feelings as he opened to the chapter titled 'Traditions'. He rolled his eyes.

And for maybe the first time of his life, Nagihiko craved something other than 'freedom', something that had become completely unnatural to him and foreign.

For the first time his life, Nagihiko wanted to be _normal._

Nagihiko laughed lightly to himself, shaking his head. "… Wow, I _really _need to lay off of those painkillers."

_05. Stealing for Keeps: _Normalcy

* * *

_... I returned from the dead. Whoopee?_

_So, it's been awhile for this story. This chapter alone created bunches of headaches. _THANKS WRITER'S BLOCK, I HATE YOU TOO.

_I'd tell you I have excuses, but chances are, you won't listen to me because you have zero patience for me and this story. And _BLAHBLAHBLAH, _how did this take me three months to write? _I dunno. _All I know is that my computer wiped out all of my documents today, so I had to go fish around and try to finish this _stuuuuuupid chapter _before I slammed my head against a wall. So there's my excuse, I suppose.  
_

_... Wow. I sound really bitter. _IGNORE ME. 8D

_Ah, all of that aside, _THANKS A BUNCH _for the reviews. I'm dead serious- they always make my day. Even though it doesn't always seem like it. _

_... So yeah, thanks for putting up for such a long... wait, I guess. Maybe I'll update again soon? _(Doubtful. _Veryverydoubtful._)

_Review if you can, and if you can't, hope you had fun reading. _:)

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday." -Author Unknown

-Bluey-san


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